Coronavirus: New Zealand’s Covid-19 border rules, quarantine lottery were unlawful, court rules
- New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine process stripped citizens of their right to return home, the High Court in Wellington ruled on Wednesday
- Its failure to take into account people’s specific needs meant the government had acted ‘unlawfully, unreasonably and in breach of the Bill of Rights’
In a 140-page written decision, Justice Jillian Mallon said the managed isolation and quarantine process did not allow personal circumstances to be sufficiently considered and prioritised.
Mallon found that the system itself was a critical component of the country’s coronavirus elimination strategy. But she said its failure to take into account people’s specific needs meant the government had acted “unlawfully, unreasonably and in breach of the Bill of Rights that states every New Zealand citizen has the right to enter New Zealand”.
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The challenge to the High Court in Wellington was brought in February by the “Grounded Kiwis”, an advocacy group that had lobbied for the restrictions to ease.
It argued New Zealanders offshore had been stripped of their rights and some had become traumatised by failed attempts to return home.
Its challenge focused on the restrictions in place over the period from September 1 to December 17 last year.
Demand for places in the country’s limited isolation and quarantine hotel rooms significantly outstripped supply during that period, meaning thousands missed out on places in the lottery-based booking system.