COVID-19, particularly as it relates to balancing rights to healthcare and health protection, other human rights, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi considerations.235 219. The Government implemented a series of national and localised lockdown periods between March 2020 and December 2021.236 On 13 May 2020, the Government passed the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 which gave police and other “enforcement officers” the power to enter homes and other premises without a warrant to enforce lockdown requirements.237 The Commission raised concerns that the legislation was passed under urgency without the full scrutiny of Parliament’s democratic processes and that it empowered extensive regulatory decision-making without an explicit requirement for decision-makers to act in accordance with national and international human rights commitments and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.238 Subsequent legislation, which imposed restrictions in public settings based on mandated community vaccination rates, was also passed under urgency, surpassing processes to ensure full legislative scrutiny.239 220. Māori had a significantly lower rate of vaccination compared with other ethnicities, which exposed them to a greater risk of infection by comparison to other population groups.240 The imposition of restrictions in public settings based on mandated community vaccination rates also exacerbated existing inequities in social and economic outcomes for different population groups.241 Some of these issues were addressed when Māori health providers received support to work within their communities, and the vaccination policies were revised to take into account the vulnerability of Māori. The Waitangi Tribunal found that the Government’s vaccination rollout and social restriction policies amounted to a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles of active protection, equity, tino rangatiratanga, options and partnership.242 221. During a respiratory pandemic, people who are deprived of their liberty have a greater risk of infection due to living in close proximity to one another and their limited ability to take their own precautionary measures.243 Throughout the COVID-19 response, people held in prisons, police cells, secure mental health and dementia units, youth justice facilities, care and protection residences and managed isolation and quarantine facilities were locked down from 235 See Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Briefings on the Covid-19 Protection Framework (24 November 2021) available at https://tikatangata.org.nz/our-work/briefings-on-the-covid-19-protection-framework. 236 See Aotearoa New Zealand Government, History of the COVID-19 Alert System (29 June 2022) available at https://covid19.govt.nz/about-our-covid-19-response/history-of-the-covid-19-alert-system/. 237 COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020, s 20. 238 Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Commission Deeply Concerned about Covid-19 Public Health Response Bill (13 May 2020) available at https://archive.hrc.co.nz/news/human-rights-commission-deeplyconcerned-about-covid-19-public-health-response-bill/. 239 COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021 and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Order 2021. See Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Submission on Inquiry into the regulation-making powers in the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021 and the COVID19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Order 2021 (11 February 2022) available at https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/submissions-and-advice/document/53SCRR_EVI_118276_RR1583/humanrights-commission. 240 Human Rights Commission A human rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi approach to Aotearoa New Zealand’s proposed Covid-19 Protection Framework: Background Briefing (November 2021) pp.2 and 4 available at https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/5016/3771/7865/Background_Briefing.pdf. 241 Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Commission “New Zealand Third Universal Periodic Review: Mid-Term Report of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission” (February 2022) pp.11 to 34. 242 Waitangi Tribunal “Tribunal releases priority report on COVID-19 response” (December 2021) at https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/news/tribunal-releases-priority-report-on-covid-19-response/. 243 Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Te Tiriti o Waitangi: COVID-19 and Alert Level 4 in Aotearoa New Zealand (April 2020) at p. 11 available at https://www.parliament.nz/resource/enNZ/52SCEN_EVI_99143_EN22483/4f2317ec2ab736b299e706da942399b0171ba2f8. 49