2 - Our terms of reference Ngā tūtohu mahi
Our terms of reference5 set the parameters for both the scope and style of the Phase One Inquiry. They confirmed our core task: to look at how to strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand’s preparedness for future pandemics. We were asked to do this by identifying what lessons could be learned from Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 between February 2020 and October 2022, and how those lessons could be applied in preparation for any future pandemic.
Specifically, we were asked to consider:
- The public health response and the delivery of health services – including things like border closures and MIQ arrangements; the approval and mandating of vaccines; lockdowns and isolation arrangements; as well as modelling and surveillance systems, vaccine passes, gathering limits and PPE, along with continued delivery of necessary health services.
- The provision of goods and services – such as how people’s everyday needs were met during the pandemic; the provision of lifeline utilities and services (water, electricity and so on); how education and childcare services were delivered, along with other essential services that the Government provides, like regular superannuation payments or housing.
- The economic response – the support available to individuals and businesses (such as the wage subsidy); the exemptions that were put in place for specific industries (farming, for example); and the Government’s economic response more generally.
- Government decision-making, communication and engagement – what decision-making structures and arrangements were used to manage and deliver the response? How did people and communities receive information and how did Government engage with them, in order to limit the spread of the virus and ensure everyone was kept safe?
Our terms of reference were therefore broad. Across health, economic and social aspects of the country's response, the Inquiry was asked to examine the legislative, policy and operational settings applying throughout the response and to consider: what can be learned that could improve Aotearoa New Zealand’s preparedness and response to a future pandemic? The terms of reference also required us to examine how the pandemic response addressed the interests of Māori, consistent with the te Tiriti o Waitangi relationship, and any disproportionate impacts the pandemic may have had on particular population groups and communities. We were also asked to assess the effectiveness of the various pandemic strategies, settings and measures (both health and economic) that were adopted.
Our terms of reference excluded certain aspects of the pandemic response. Out of scope matters included specific clinical decisions, the wider health system reforms, decisions of the courts and oversight bodies, the private sector’s operations (beyond delivering essential services), particular decisions taken by the Reserve Bank’s independent monetary policy committee during the COVID-19 pandemic, adaptation of court procedures and parliamentary processes, and the conduct of the general election. In addition, ’the specific epidemiology of the COVID-19 virus and its variants’ and ’vaccine efficacy’ were out of scope.
More information about the Inquiry’s Phase One terms of reference is available in our main report (see Part One, Chapter 3).
The terms of reference emphasised that the Phase One Inquiry’s aim was to extract lessons for the future. We were not to take a legalistic and adversarial approach, and should use the least formal information-gathering processes possible. We were required to utilise publicly-available information as much as possible and seek any additional information in an efficient and targeted way.