National MP Simeon Brown says former COVID 19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins must explain why Auckland remained in lockdown longer than public health advice recommended.

“Aucklanders endured some of the longest COVID 19 restrictions in the world,” Brown said.

“Businesses wondered if they would survive, parents had to explain to their kids why they couldn’t see their grandparents, and funerals were held without the people who should have been there.”

“Aucklanders accepted those sacrifices because they trusted the restrictions were necessary. Chris Hipkins stood up and told them he was following the health advice. He wasn’t.”

Brown said the Royal Commission found the Ministry of Health warned the Auckland boundary was unnecessary and impractical.

“The Royal Commission has also confirmed that unredacted Cabinet papers reveal the Ministry of Health warned Hipkins the Auckland boundary was unnecessary and impractical and should be lifted.

Despite that advice, he kept it in place for another 32 days over the Christmas and New Year period and never told the public.”

“He knew that advice and chose to ignore it, leaving businesses shut, families separated, and people pushed past their limits for no public health reason.”

“Put simply, Aucklanders were asked to sacrifice more than they needed to, and they were never told the full story.”

Brown also criticised Labour’s economic response during the pandemic.

“Treasury told Labour from the beginning that COVID 19 spending needed to be timely, temporary, and targeted. Labour ignored that advice.”

“The result was a $60 billion COVID 19 Response and Recovery Fund across 821 programmes, around half of which had little or nothing to do with the pandemic.”

“The Royal Commission found Labour’s highly stimulatory fiscal and monetary policies drove house prices to unsustainable levels and fuelled inflation.”

“That’s why families today are dealing with higher mortgages, higher rents, and higher grocery bills. Many households are still paying the price for decisions Labour made during the pandemic.”

“It makes sense now why Chris Hipkins refused to front publicly at the Commission’s hearings.”

“He owes an explanation to every Aucklander who endured a lockdown that went on longer than it needed to, and to every family still feeling the squeeze from Labour’s economic decisions.”

However in a statement Hipkins said “today acknowledged the findings of the second COVID-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry which again affirms that New Zealand had one of the leading pandemic responses in the world.

“Like the first report, this inquiry finds New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 was robust, with decisions that were considered, appropriate, and guided by the best evidence available at the time,” Hipkins said.

“Ministers and officials were making decisions in an unprecedented global crisis, using the best evidence available at the time. These decisions helped protect New Zealanders.

“What now matters most is how we use the lessons learned. It is vital that when New Zealand faces its next major challenge, our institutions are resilient, our processes sound, and public trust strengthened.

“The focus now must be on what has happened since the pandemic. Over the past two years, the Government has cut public health capability while commissioning multiple reviews that repeat the same conclusions.

“National now needs to answer a simple question: Are we better prepared for the next pandemic today than we were in 2020?” Hipkins said.