Foreword | Covid-19 Lessons Learned

Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic had, and continues to have, significant, complex and far-reaching impacts on individual people, whānau (families), communities and organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand.

This experiences report is a summary of public submissions provided to Te Tira Ārai Urutā the New Zealand Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned (the Inquiry) in early 2024.

A focus of the Inquiry’s work has been hearing directly from people about their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, to help inform Aotearoa New Zealand’s planning for any future pandemics.

We considered it vital for our work to be anchored in a deep understanding of what happened to people during the pandemic, and the feedback we have received has been extremely insightful.

In their own words, nearly 13,000 individuals, whānau (families) and organisations shared their experiences and feedback with us. In total, people raised over 1,200 different topics and more than 133,000 points, which were then carefully grouped and sorted under common themes. We heard from people of many different ages and ethnicities across Aotearoa New Zealand, and from many New Zealanders living overseas.

People took the opportunity to share their thoughts freely and openly. Many people provided detailed descriptions of their personal pandemic experience. Others took the opportunity to provide clear and direct lessons for future pandemic planning. Some provided just a few short sentences. Together the feedback and input we received was invaluable to our work.

In terms of positive experiences, many people were very supportive of how Aotearoa New Zealand handled the early stages of the pandemic and indicated their overall support for a response which they considered prioritised lives and people. People saw benefits in Aotearoa New Zealand’s response compared to other countries around the world.

At the same time, people shared their concerns about the significant impacts of the pandemic, for example on mental health and wellbeing, to jobs and businesses and the wider economy, and on their children’s education – to name just a few.

We also received many submissions from people who expressed strong negative views about the pandemic response. We heard significant criticisms of various public health measures used during the pandemic, especially lockdowns, managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ), and vaccine mandates. Many people expressed their opposition to these sorts of measures being used – or used in the same way – in the future.

We heard from people who questioned the Government’s authority to place significant restrictions on people’s everyday lives during a pandemic, and from those suspicious of the intent of the New Zealand Government, international governing bodies and pharmaceutical companies.

Overall, it is very clear from the public feedback we received that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected people’s lives – but often in quite different ways.

We consider all experiences are important and can contribute to future pandemic planning. This report, therefore, aims to show the vast range of experiences and lessons (both positive and negative) that people have shared with the Inquiry.

The feedback from public submissions complements the other evidence and insights we have gathered, including from conducting over 380 meetings and reviewing more than 133,000 pages of documentation.

This experiences report is a companion document to the Inquiry’s Phase One report, completed in November 2024.

We would like to acknowledge community engagement specialists Dioscuri and All is for All, who worked with the Inquiry to coordinate a range of community engagements as part of the public submission process in 2024.

In addition, we are grateful to Citizen Space for their technical support of the process, and for the excellent support from the team at Global Research Ltd, who partnered with us to analyse the feedback received.

Ngā mihi nui

Tony Blakely signed

Professor Tony Blakely, Chair

John Whitehead CNZM KStJ,
Commissioner

John Whitehead CNZM KStJ, Commissioner

Grant Illingworth KC, Commissioner

Grant Illingworth KC,ⁱCommissioner

He pānga nui tonu, matatini me te whānui o te mate urutā KOWHEORI-19 ki ngā tāngata, ngā whānau, ngā hapori me ngā whakahaere puta noa i Aotearoa.

He whakarāpopototanga tēnei pūrongo wheako o ngā tāpaetanga kōrero tūmatanui i tukuna ki Te Tira Ārai Urutā (te Uiui) i te tīmatanga o te 2024.

Ko tētahi aronga o ngā mahi o te Uiui ko te whakarongo tonu ki ngā tāngata mō ō rātau wheako mō te mate urutā KOWHEORI-19, hei āwhina ki te whakamōhio i ngā whakarite mahere o Aotearoa mō ngā mate urutā o muri mai.

He mea hira ki ā mātau mahi kia tino mārama i ahatia ngā tāngata i roto i te mate urutā, ā, kua tino mārama mātau ināianei i ngā kōrero kua riro mai.

I roto i ā rātau kōrero, tata ki te 13,000 ngā tāngata, ngā whānau me ngā whakahaere i tuku kōrero mai ki a mātau mō ngā āhuatanga ki a rātau. Huihui katoa, neke atu i te 1,200 ngā take kōrero i whakaarahia me ngā take neke atu i te 133,000, kātahi ka āta whakarōpūtia e mātau i raro i ngā kaupapa noa. I rongo kōrero mātau mai i ngā tāngata nō ngā taipakeke me ngā mātāwaka rerekē puta noa i Aotearoa, me ngā tāngata maha o Aotearoa e noho ana i tāwāhi.

I tukuna e te tangata ō rātau whakaaro i runga i te wairua me ngā ngākau tuwhera. He maha ngā tāngata i tuku whakamāramatanga āmiki mō ō rātau wheako urutā ake. I āhei ētahi atu ki te tuku akoranga mārama me te hāngai mō te whakarite mahere urutā mō anamata. Ko ētahi i tuku rerenga kōrero poto noa iho. He mea hira ēnei i te taha o ngā whakaaro i tukuna mai ki ā mātau mahi.

Mō te taha ki ngā wheako pai, he maha ngā tāngata i tautoko i te āhua o te whakahaere a Aotearoa i te wāhanga tuatahi o te mate urutā me tā rātau tautoko whānui i tētahi urupare ko te ora o te tangata te mea tuatahi. I kite ngā tāngata i Aotearoa i ngā painga o te urupare o Aotearoa tēnā i ētahi atu whenua o te ao.

Heoi, i whakaputa anō ngā tāngata i ō rātau māharahara mō ngā pānga nui o te mate urutā, arā ki te hauora me te oranga hinengaro, ki ngā mahi me ngā pakihi me te ōhanga whānui, me te mātauranga o ō rātau mātauranga – arā atu anō ētahi.

I whiwhi tāpaetanga kōrero mai i ngā tāngata kāore i pai ō rātau whakaaro mō te urupare mate urutā. I rongo mātau i ngā whakahē mō ngā tūmomo whakaritenga hauora tūmatanui i whakamahia i te mate urutā, otirā ko ngā noho rāhui, ngā wāhi noho me ngā whakanōhanga taratahi (MIQ), me ngā mana kano ārai mate. He maha ngā tāngata i whakahē kia whakamahia anōtia ēnei momo whakaritenga ā muri ake.

I rongo mātau mai i ngā tāngata i werowero i te mana o te Kāwanatanga ki te whakatau rāhui hira ki ngā ao o ia rā o te tangata i te wā o te mate urutā, tae atu ki ērā e tūpato nei ki te hiahia o te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa, ngā rōpū mana whakahaere o Aotearoa me ngā kamupene rongoā.

Heoi, e mārama ana mai i ngā whakaaro o te iwi whānui i whiwhi mātau he pānga nui tō te mate urutā KOWHEORI-19 ki ngā tāngata – engari he rerekē nei ngā pānga.

Ki a mātau he mea nui ngā wheako katoa, ā, ka taea e mātau te tautoko ngā mahi whakarite mahere urutā ā muri ake. Nō reira ko te whai a tēnei pūrongo he whakaatu i ngā tūmomo wheako, akoranga whānui (pai me te kino) i tukuna mai e te tangata ki te Uiui.

Ka tautoko ngā whakaaro mai i ngā tāpaetanga kōrero tūmatanui i ētahi atu kitenga kua kohia e mātau, tae atu ki ngā hui 380 i whakahaerehia me te āta tirotiro i ngā whārangi neke atu i te 100,000.

He tuhinga tāpiri tēnei pūrongo wheako ki te pūrongo Wāhanga Tuatahi a te Uiui, i oti i te Noema 2024.

Tēnei te mihi atu ki te mātanga whakawhitiwhiti ki te hapori a Dioscuri me All is for All, i mahi i te taha o te Uiui ki te whakarite i ngā tūmomo hui tahi hapori i roto i te tāpaetanga kōrero tūmatanui i te tau 2024. I tua atu i tērā, e whakamihi ana ki a Citizen Space mō ā rātau tautoko hangarau i te hātepe, ka mutu mō ngā tautoko rawe a te rōpū i Global Research Ltd, nā rātau i mahi tahi me mātou ki te tātari i ngā whakaaro i whiwhi mai.