COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021 | |
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New Zealand Parliament | |
Royal assent | 25 November 2021 [1] |
Legislative history | |
Introduced by | Chris Hipkins |
First reading | 23 November 2021 [1] |
Second reading | 23 November 2021 [1] |
Third reading | 23 November 2021 [1] |
Related legislation | |
COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 | |
Status: Expired |
The COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021 is an Act of Parliament to provide a legal framework for the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 Protection Framework and vaccination mandates. The bill was introduced under urgency and passed in law on 23 November 2021. While the bill was supported by the Labour Government and their Green coalition partners, it was opposed by the opposition National, ACT, and Māori parties, which criticised the rushed and divisive nature of the legislation and claimed that vulnerable communities would be adversely affected. [2] [1]
From 5 April 2022, the Government eased vaccine mandate requirements for teachers, Police, Defence Force personnel and businesses requiring vaccine passes. [3] [4] On 12 September, the Government scrapped the COVID-19 Protection Framework and lifted the vaccine mandate for health and disability workers on 27 September 2022. [5] [6]
As an omnibus bill, the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021 amends the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 and the Employment Relations Act 2000 to give the Government and employers greater mandate to require employees to receive COVID-19 vaccines. The Bill also has a sunset clause for the repeal of the provisions of the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act 2021 on the date that the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 is repealed. [7]
The COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Act introduces the following amendments:
Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins introduced the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill during its first reading on 23 November 2021. The bill passed its first reading by a margin of 85 to 35. The Labour, Green, and ACT parties supported the bill while the National and Te Pāti Māori (Māori Party) opposed it. National's COVID-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop and fellow National MPs Scott Simpson, and Penny Simmonds objected to the bill on the grounds that it was rushed and lacked a select committee process. Labour MPs Hipkins, Liz Craig, Tracey McLellan, and Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere defended the bill, claiming that it supported the Government's COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic-light system) and vaccination efforts. ACT leader David Seymour initially supported the bill as part of a constructive approach to supporting the Government's COVID-19 response while expressing concerns about the bill's vague language relating to business operations. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer objected to the bill on the grounds that the Government's vaccination mandate and traffic light framework did not comply with the Treaty of Waitangi. [8]
During the in-committee stage, Parliament rejected several amendments by National MPs regarding vaccination policies, laboratory testing, easing travel restrictions on the basis of negative COVID-19 tests, exemptions for places of worship, funeral services, and tangihanga, and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and human rights safeguards. [9]
During the third reading, ACT leader David Seymour joined the National Party in criticising the legislation, describing it as a "constitutional outrage" and attacking the Government's management of the COVID-19 pandemic and economy. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Ngarewa-Packer opposed the bill, claiming that the Government's COVID-19 Protection Framework would endanger Māori lives and well-being. Labour and Green MPs, particularly McLellan and Kerekere defended the Government's traffic light system and vaccine passes. The bill passed its final reading by a margin 75 (Labour and Greens) to 45 votes (National, ACT, Māori). [10]
Prior to its passage, Human Rights Commission chief Paul Hunt described the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill as "highly problematic" both constitutionally and in terms of New Zealand's human rights and Treaty of Waitangi obligations. He also opined that the Bill should be subject to a full parliamentary select committee as soon as it had passed into law. [11] [12]
Victoria University of Wellington law Professor Dr Dean Knight was supportive of the legislation but expressed concern about its rapid passage. While the Ministry of Justice advised Attorney-General David Parker that the bill was consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, its lawyers expressed concern about the "extremely shot frame of time" relating to the legislation's passage. [12]
In early December 2021, Attorney-General Parker defended the hasty passage of the law, stating that "it would have been impossible to avoid a 24-hour urgent lawmaking spree." Parker also said that New Zealand should not allow the choices of the unvaccinated minority to hold back its progress in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. [13]
On 3 December 2021, University of Auckland commercial law Associate Professor Gehan Gunasekara along with Dr Marcin Betkier and Kathryn Dalziel of the Privacy Foundation New Zealand expressed concern about the lack of a select committee process that would have allowed public consultation and the opaque language relating to the protection of COVID-19 contact tracing and vaccination information. They also expressed concerns about the protection of contact tracing information and the safety of software used for storing the My Vaccine Pass software on phones. [14]
On 23 March 2022, Ardern announced that the New Zealand Government would ease several of the COVID-19 Protection Framework's "red setting" restrictions including lifting the My Vaccine Pass and vaccine mandate requirements for teachers, Police, Defence Force staff and businesses from 5 April 2022. [3] [4] The opposition National Party's COVID-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop welcomed the elimination of the My Vaccine Pass requirement and called for the Government to ditch the COVID-19 Protection Framework. By contrast, the Greens' health spokesperson Teanau Tuiono described the easing of social distancing and vaccine mandate requirements as harmful to young children under the age of five. [3]
On 12 September 2022, Ardern announced that the entire traffic light system would be dropped at 11:59 pm that night. This included the scrapping of vaccine and testing requirements for all travellers entering New Zealand. In addition, the Government's vaccine mandate for health and disability workers was eliminated at 11:59 pm on 26 September. However, some employers would be allowed to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 due to health and safety requirements. [5] [6]
On 27 November 2023, the incoming National-led coalition government confirmed that it would end all remaining COVID-19 vaccine mandates and hold an independent inquiry into the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15]
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on claims brought by Māori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown, in the period largely since 1840, that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tribunal is not a court of law; therefore, the Tribunal's recommendations and findings are not binding on the Crown. They are sometimes not acted on, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, the TGA regulates the safety, quality, efficacy and advertising in Australia of therapeutic goods. Therapeutic goods include goods that are represented to have a therapeutic effect, are included in a class of goods the sole or principal use of which is a therapeutic use, or are otherwise determined to be a therapeutic good through a legislative instrument under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. Goods that are therapeutic goods must be entered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), or otherwise be the subject of an exemption, approval or authority by the TGA under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990 or Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2002 before they can be imported, supplied, exported or manufactured in Australia.
A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by state or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or schools. Many policies have been developed and implemented since vaccines were first made widely available.
David Breen Seymour is a New Zealand politician who has been the Leader of ACT New Zealand and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom since 2014. He currently serves as the 1st Minister for Regulation in the Sixth National Government under Christopher Luxon.
The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2020. The country recorded over 2,274,370 cases. Over 3,000 people died as a result of the pandemic, with cases recorded in all twenty district health board (DHB) areas. The pandemic first peaked in early April 2020, with 89 new cases recorded per day and 929 active cases. Cases peaked again in October 2021 with 134 new cases reported on 22 October.
There were several COVID-19 protests in New Zealand held during the period of COVID-19 restrictions from 2020 to 2022, where people protested the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, in particular the lockdown measures in place in March–May 2020, August 2020, and August–November 2021 and the later vaccine mandates. The protests have been largely condemned by members of parliament, as well as local city and regional councils. Fears were also raised about the protests increasing the spread of the virus.
The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 is a standalone legislation passed by the New Zealand Parliament on 13 May 2020 to provide a legal framework for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand over the next two years or until the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. The Act allows the Minister of Health to make orders under Section 11 to give effect to the public health response to the COVID-19 in New Zealand. In late 2024, the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 was repealed by Parliament.
The New Zealand Government responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand in various ways. In early February 2020, the Government imposed travel restrictions on China in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic originating in Wuhan and also repatriated citizens and residents from Wuhan. Following the country's first case, which originated in Iran, the Government imposed travel restrictions on Iran.
COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand began on 20 February 2021, and will continue throughout the pandemic with the goal of vaccinating all willing New Zealanders aged 5 or older. Those aged 5 to 11 require a parent, caregiver or legal guardian accompany them to their appointment and provide consent for them to be vaccinated. As of 1 September, anyone in New Zealand, regardless of their immigration status, is eligible to be vaccinated.
A COVID-19 vaccine card is a record often given to those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine showing information such as the date(s) one has received the shot(s) and the brand of vaccine one has received, sometimes including the lot number. The card also contains information identifying the recipient and the location where the shot was given. Depending on the country, it could serve as an official document verifying one has received vaccination, which could be required by some institutions, such as a school or workplace, when boarding a cruise ship, or when crossing an international border, as proof that one has been vaccinated.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States is the sociocultural phenomenon of individuals refusing or displaying hesitance towards receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States can be considered as part of the broader history of vaccine hesitancy.
This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2021, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this pandemic began in December 2019.
This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in November 2021, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this pandemic began in December 2019.
This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2021, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this pandemic began in December 2019.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been enacted by numerous states and municipalities in the United States, and also by private entities. In September 2021, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would take steps to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for certain entities under the authority of the federal government or federal agencies. Most federal mandates thus imposed were either overturned through litigation, or withdrawn by the administration, although a mandate on health care workers in institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds was upheld. All federal mandates were lifted when the national emergency was declared to have ended in May 2023. A small number of states have gone in the opposite direction, through executive orders or legislation designed to limit vaccination mandates.
A vaccine passport or proof of vaccination is an immunity passport employed as a credential in countries and jurisdictions as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic via vaccination. A vaccine passport is typically issued by a government or health authority, and usually consists of a digital or printed record. Some credentials may include a scannable QR code, which can also be provisioned via mobile app. It may or may not use a COVID-19 vaccine card as a basis of authentication.
The Biden administration COVID-19 action plan, also called the Path out of the Pandemic, is a substantial increase in the use of vaccination mandates as part of the U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic announced by President Joe Biden on September 9, 2021, to be carried out by officials in the Biden administration. The plan included various announced prospective efforts, as well as the issuance of several executive orders.
The COVID-19 Protection Framework was a system used by the New Zealand Government during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. The three-tier traffic light system used vaccination and community transmission rates to determine the level of restrictions needed. It came into effect at 11:59 pm on 2 December 2021, replacing the four-tier alert level system, which used lockdowns. On 12 September 2022, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the traffic light system would be dropped at 11:59 pm that night.
My Vaccine Pass was a vaccine certificate issued by the New Zealand Government that served as an official record of one's COVID-19 vaccination status during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine pass was required to enter hospitality venues, community, sport and faith-based gatherings, as a result of the COVID-19 Protection Framework having come into effect on 3 December 2021. The passes expired on 1 June 2022.
COVID-19 vaccination mandates in Canada are the responsibility of provinces, territories, and municipalities, and in the case of federal public services and federally-regulated transportation industries, the federal government. COVID-19 vaccines are taxpayer funded in Canada and made available free of charge through the public health care system. The federal government is responsible for procurement and distribution of the vaccines to provincial and territorial authorities; provincial and territorial governments are responsible for administering vaccinations to people in their respective jurisdictions. Mass vaccination efforts began across Canada on December 14, 2020. As the second vaccinations became more widely available in June 2021, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to offer a voluntary vaccine passport.