(Un)lawful Lockdown and Government Accountability

As the Government begins to ease the lockdown, serious questions remain about the lawfulness of these extraordinary measures. Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee has indicated it will issue summonses for the production of legal advice about the legal basis of the powers exercised by the Government over the past few weeks. It is possible the Committee wants to find out whether or not the Government refused to follow any legal advice warning it about insufficient legal basis for its lockdown plans. This advice is covered by legal professional privilege, which can be waived by the Government, or altogether lifted by Parliament. The Attorney-General has said it would be “dangerous” for Parliament to do that. In fact, at a time when the Government has exercised sweeping coercive powers suspending New Zealanders’ basic rights and liberties, it would be dangerous for Parliament to shy away from holding it to account – from interrogating whether the Government acted according to law.