4 - About this summary report He kōrero mō tēnei pūrongo whakamārama

This summary report is a companion document to the Inquiry’s Phase One main report and is broadly structured in the same manner. It contains three sections:

This report outlines what the Inquiry assessed, what the public told us, and the Inquiry's key lessons learned from Aotearoa New Zealand's COVID-19 pandemic response.

Part One, Introduction

includes information about the Inquiry’s terms of reference and how we approached our work.

Part Two, Lessons learned from looking back

presents chapter summaries of the Inquiry’s assessment and key lessons learned looking back at Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to COVID-19. We also include topic-based overviews of what the public told the Inquiry.

Part Three, Moving forward

presents two chapters, summarising the Inquiry’s Phase One lessons for the future and provides our complete set of recommendations.

Lessons learned from looking back

Ngā akoranga i te titiro whakamuri

Part Two of this report contains eight chapters which correspond with Chapters 1–8 of the Inquiry’s main report. They are:

1. A snapshot of Aotearoa New Zealand’s pandemic experience
2. All-of-government preparations and response
3. Lockdowns
4. Keeping the country closed: border restrictions and quarantine
5. Health system response
6. Economic and social impacts and responses
7. Vaccination
8. Mandatory measures

In this summary report, the Lessons learned from looking back chapters are condensed: we provide summaries of what the Inquiry assessed and what people told the Inquiry during our public feedback process, along with the Inquiry’s key lessons learned from looking back. In the main report, these chapters contain much more detailed information about Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main report also contains an additional chapter (Chapter 9) that takes stock of Aotearoa New Zealand’s pandemic response and sets out some broad reflections on what the country’s experience of COVID-19 taught us.

More information about the direct experiences of New Zealanders during the COVID-19 pandemic is available in the Inquiry’s Experiences Report, which summarises key themes and insights from the public feedback process we conducted in early 2024.

Disclaimer: The content within this report that summarises people’s views and experiences of the pandemic, and was gathered through our public feedback process in early 2024, is not representative of all COVID-19 pandemic experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand or all views on the pandemic response. The feedback we received only represents the views and experiences of those who chose to complete our survey. In addition, they are not the views or recommendations of the Inquiry Commissioners or the New Zealand Government.

Moving forward: Summary of lessons and recommendations

Te Anga Whakamua: He whakarāpopototanga o ngā akoranga me ngā tūtohutanga

The summary report then turns to the future. The Moving Forward section consists of two chapters that summarise the Inquiry’s Phase One lessons for the future, and provide our recommendations for action.

 
Lessons for the future

1. Manage pandemics to look after all aspects of people’s lives
2. Make good decisions
3. Build resilience in the health system
4. Build resilience in economic and social systems
5. Work together
6. Build the foundations

Lessons for the future

We outline our observations about how the global context has shifted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping the context for the lessons we have drawn for the future (these observations are discussed in detail in our main report in Part Three, Chapter 10)

We then present six thematic lessons for the future. These describe the high-level elements we consider are necessary to ensure Aotearoa New Zealand is better prepared for the next pandemic ahead of time, and ready to respond in ways that take care of all aspects of people’s lives. These are presented in both a graphic overview and written summary and can be found in Chapter 13. Within each thematic lesson, a range of ʼsub-lessons’ elaborate on how our Inquiry considers Aotearoa New Zealand can develop balanced and effective pandemic responses in the future.

In our main report, the ’lessons for the future’ chapter contains additional commentary, context and detail. It also includes a case study (spotlight) on making complex decisions in a pandemic, and an international comparison with South Korea and its state of pandemic preparedness prior to COVID-19.

Recommendations

Our recommendations call for action across many areas of government, but all support a common overall objective: ensuring pandemic preparations and any future pandemic responses have a clear purpose and are people-centred. They set out the practical steps that we consider the Government of Aotearoa New Zealand, and its agencies, should now take to ensure any future pandemic response is effective and looks after all aspects of people’s lives.ⁱⁱ

Recommendations are organised in six groups:

1. Strengthen all-of-government coordination and accountability for pandemic preparedness
2. Ensure an all-of-government pandemic plan, response structure and supporting processes are developed and ready for a pandemic response
3. Strengthen the public health measures that may be required in a pandemic
4. Ensure all sectors are prepared for a pandemic and ready to respond
5. Ensure enablers are in place
6. Implement the Inquiry’s recommendations

The challenge of responding well to a pandemic does not fall on central government alone – communities, iwi and Māori, non-governmental organisations, local government and the private sector all contributed enormously to the COVID-19 response and will doubtless do so again in another pandemic. These groups and others may well find aspects of our recommendations relevant to their own pandemic planning.

In this summary report, we provide a graphic overview and the Inquiry’s complete table of recommendations (available in Chapter 14 - Recommendations).

ⁱⁱ See section 5 of the Terms of Reference: ’Matters upon which recommendations are sought: The inquiry should make recommendations on the public health strategies and supporting economic and other measures that New Zealand should apply in preparation for any future pandemic, in relation to the principal matters within the inquiry’s scope, by applying relevant lessons learned from New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 and the response from comparable jurisdictions.’