By TeKāhu
In a move seen as a slap in the face to New Zealanders, former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, alongside Labour heavyweights Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall, have refused to appear at the second round of public hearings for the Covid-19 Royal Commission, scrapping the sessions entirely and exacerbating the trauma of a nation already scarred by division.
While claiming to cooperate privately with the inquiry, their refusal to face public scrutiny has ignited fury among Kiwis seeking closure. The National-led coalition Government launched “phase two” of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19 Lessons in June last year to probe deeper into the pandemic response, building on the initial Labour-established inquiry.
Inquiry chair Grant Illingworth, despite having the authority to summons Ardern and her colleagues, chose not to, citing their behind-closed-doors cooperation. “On balance we are of the view that a summons is undesirable, given that the former ministers continue to co-operate with the evidence-gathering of the inquiry,” Illingworth said. He noted that forcing their appearance would be “legalistic and adversarial,” contrary to the inquiry’s terms.
Illingworth admitted public hearings would have bolstered trust by allowing New Zealanders to see these key architects of the pandemic response questioned openly. Yet, Ardern and her allies argued public appearances risked their words being “tampered with, manipulated or otherwise misused,” a concern they insisted the inquiry should have foreseen.
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Hipkins denied hiding from scrutiny. “We have shown up to the enquiry, I have shown up to the enquiry. I have been interviewed by them twice,” he said, claiming he provided written evidence and answered all questions in a session that ended early because the inquiry “ran out of questions after an hour.” He rejected any coordinated effort with Ardern, despite their close ties, stating, “Any suggestion we colluded with this is wrong.”
National MP Chris Bishop blasted Hipkins for evading responsibility. “Fresh from fobbing off Treasury’s report into Labour’s spending, [he] is avoiding accountability by refusing to front up to the Royal Commission,” Bishop said. “By first dismissing Treasury’s report and now refusing to front, Chris Hipkins is telling New Zealanders he does not care about the effects his decisions have had on Kiwis.”
Other comments included stripping Ardern of her knighthood, arresting the Mandate/Lockdown architects immediately, and other strongly held assertions:
Critics argue this refusal to face public questioning not only shows contempt for a fractured nation but deepens the trauma of New Zealanders desperate for transparency and healing from the pandemic’s lasting rifts.
