Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and senior Labour ministers Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson, and Dr Ayesha Verrall have refused to appear at public hearings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the country’s pandemic response, forcing the Commission to cancel its second week of hearings.
However, respected barrister Graeme Edgeler from Blackstone Chambers in Wellington, who specialises in constitutional and electoral law said in a post “if the Royal Commission wishes to hear in-person in-public evidence from former ministers, it has the power to insist.”
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters accused the four of colluding to avoid accountability.
“Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall have all colluded and decided to decline to give evidence at the COVID-19 Royal Commission public hearings,” Peters said. “The ‘Podium of Truth’ has become the ‘Podium of Evasion’. These former ministers do not want to sit in a public hearing and answer the hard questions that every New Zealander deserves to know. If ever there was a definition for a different kind of abuse of power, this is it.”
Peters said “These former Labour ministers are undermining the entire action and purpose of the inquiry to avoid public scrutiny. They care nothing about public confidence, and are treating the public with disdain and contempt.”
ACT leader David Seymour said their refusal was a stark contrast to their daily televised briefings during the pandemic. “Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson, and Ayesha Verrall’s refusal to front up to the COVID inquiry is a big change from invading our living rooms daily. What’s changed?” Seymour asked.
“Hipkins and co loved the limelight at 1pm every day. They wielded extraordinary powers over citizens’ lives, dismissing those who questioned them as uncaring. Now they’re refusing to even show up – what a contrast.”
Seymour listed examples of what he called “extraordinary powers” used by the former government, including:
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Separating families at the border and in hospitals, even at times of birth, death, and severe illness
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Letting millions of Rapid Antigen Tests expire unused while keeping Auckland in lockdown for more than 100 extra days
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Locking down Northland on false information, refusing to apologise despite officials doing so
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Maintaining outdated restrictions during Omicron that hurt people but did nothing to stop the spread
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Keeping MIQ in place long after the virus was widespread
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Postponing surgeries and medical treatments
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Damaging education through prolonged school closures
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Creating inconsistent rules that harmed small businesses while favouring large chains
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Ignoring Treasury warnings and overspending $66 billion, fuelling inflation and the cost-of-living crisis
“Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have already engaged with the inquiry, sharing heart-wrenching experiences of how their lives were upended. They deserve the basic respect of accountability,” Seymour said. “If Chris Hipkins can’t front up for a single day of questioning, he is not fit to act as Opposition leader, let alone return to Government.”
The Commission said it considered issuing a summons to compel the former ministers to attend, but decided against it, citing their cooperation in private interviews and the desire to avoid a legalistic, adversarial process. The final report is due in February 2026.
