The impact of COVID-19 on Inquiry engagements On 17 August 2021, the Government placed the country into a nationwide lockdown due to the detection of a community case of COVID-19 in Auckland. Aucklanders remained in an Alert Level 3 lockdown for a further six weeks, severely limiting their freedom of movement, while the rest of the country moved to Alert Level 2. The circumstances of this outbreak and the subsequent lockdown had huge impacts on the Pacific community, particularly as Auckland is home to the largest Pacific community in the country. Pacific communities were highly represented among essential workers and among those likely facing hardships directly linked to the lockdowns. As a result of the numerous lockdowns, our engagement strategy was impacted. While there were some opportunities to engage with the community online, there were several limitations to this approach. Many of our planned face-to-face interactions had to be cancelled. This included our South Island roadshow and our plans to hold stalls at markets at the Pasifika Festival (which was cancelled due to the Omicron wave of COVID-19 in early 2022). During this period, the online space was highly saturated with government agencies, civil society, NGOs and unions engaging with Pacific communities. At the time of our planned engagement, this saturation was critical as Pacific communities were dealing with being the least vaccinated population while having the highest rates of COVID-19. In addition, Pacific communities were scapegoated, experiencing racism and discrimination from the public at large concerning the spread of the virus.16 In terms of the Inquiry, this contributed to a reluctance to engage. The project team was careful to be reasonable and respectful in approaching Pacific workers for their involvement in the Inquiry at this difficult time. For further details of how we adapted our engagement in response to the resurgence of COVID-19, please refer to Appendix Four. Confidentiality To preserve the anonymity of individuals and organisations, we only refer to people’s views and stories throughout this report using the number by which we have coded their contribution and their industry. Confidentiality was an important part of our Inquiry as it allowed us to protect vulnerable workers, particularly from any repercussions for speaking about their experiences. It also allowed employers to share their views with us freely. A list of Inquiry participants’ numerical identifiers along with basic demographic information is included in Appendix Five. Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme workers We note that the Inquiry and this report do not focus on the experiences of Pacific workers in the RSE scheme. We acknowledge these Pacific workers and recognise that they experience significant human rights issues. 28 Alongside this Inquiry, the Commission has undertaken work concerned with the scheme – see, for example, our submission to the Inquiry on Migrant Exploitation.17 In addition, there is a discussion of the RSE scheme in the accompanying literature review, and we refer readers to that discussion. 16 Pickering-Martin, Emmaline. “Here We Go Again: Covid and Racism.” E-Tangata, August 29, 2021. https://e-tangata.co.nz/ comment-and-analysis/here-we-go-again-covid-and-racism/. 17 New Zealand Human Rights Commission. Submission on the Inquiry into Migrant Exploitation: Submission of the Human Rights Commission. Wellington: New Zealand Human Rights Commission, 2022. https://www.parliament.nz/resource/enNZ/53SCEW_EVI_116341_EW4994/0d395bc869d1d39c72b1d4b6001bed5d484df232