Former finance minister Grant Robertson has defended turning down an invitation to appear at public hearings of the Covid-19 inquiry, describing the process as a “show trial” and saying he’s already given hours of interviews.
A second week of public hearings at the inquiry was cancelled after former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, current Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Robertson and former health minister Ayesha Verrall all turned down invitations to appear.
Commissioners opted not to use their powers to summons the four ex-ministers.
Robertson told Q+A the second phase of the inquiry, initiated by the National-led government and coalition negotiations, had a “show trial approach”.
“I have participated in both phases of the Covid inquiry. In total, now I’m up to about four and a half hours worth of interviews,” he said.
“When I finished my most recent interview with this phase, one of the staff of the Royal Commission said to me, ‘You’ve answered all of the questions we’ve asked and more.’
“We have participated. I have participated. I don’t know that in a lessons learned inquiry the kind of show trial approach is actually that valuable.”
Asked why he thought it was a “show trial”, Robertson argued: “We’ve got precedent. We haven’t done this in Royal Commissions in New Zealand in the past, [where we] have politicians and former politicians come into the public arena.”
Labour pandemic-era ministers Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall have also declined. (Source: 1News)
Government party leaders have criticised the ex-Labour ministers for not appearing at the inquiry, saying they were not fronting up to critical questions about their actions.
Robertson was appearing on Q+A in advance of the release of his memoir, Anything Could Happen, which is being released later this week.
In the interview, he was also asked about the Labour government’s pandemic-era spending levels, his views on New Zealand’s tax system, and reflecting on moments in his life. After leaving politics, Robertson became the vice-chancellor of Otago University.
Inquiry due to report back in February
Commissioners restated that the inquiry had “not changed its view that an open hearing would enhance public confidence in its processes”.
Inquiry chairperson Grant Illingworth KC said: “The Covid-19 pandemic was a significant event that affected every New Zealander.
“The government at the time, through its ministers, made decisions about how we as a nation responded to that pandemic, which had implications for all of us.
“We have been tasked with reviewing those decisions, and we thought it was important that the public see and hear for themselves important evidence about why some key decisions about the response to Covid-19 were made and for what reason.”
GPs say they’ve seen busy winter periods before and the system is ready to cope. (Source: 1News)
Commissioners were due to report back to the Governor-General at the end of February 2026, and the decision not to proceed with a hearing would not impact timelines.
A second phase of the Royal Commission into the Covid-19 response was introduced by the Government after a “first phase” which was completed last year.
Some of the previous Labour government’s decisions around the pandemic response proved to be extremely contentious – so much so that both ACT and NZ First campaigned on expanding an inquiry into those decisions.
Expanding the terms of reference and public hearings into the Covid-19 response were part of National and NZ First’s coalition agreement to form a government.
More to come. For the full interview, watch the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
