DTNZ: Petition demands Covid-19 Royal Commission summon Ardern, Bloomfield and Hipkins

A new petition is demanding that New Zealand’s Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry compel key political and health figures to testify under oath about their roles in the country’s pandemic response.

The campaign, launched by Reality Check Radio (RCR) calls for former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, and former Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins to face public questioning over decisions that led to lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and what critics describe as widespread social and economic harm.

Other persons the petition says should face questioning and accountability are:

• Siouxsie Wiles, Microbiologist & COVID-19 Media Spokesperson
• Michael Baker, Epidemiologist & Government Health Advisor
• Shaun Hendy, Government Modeller & Physics Professor
• Helen Petousis-Harris, Vaccinologist & Government Media Spokesperson
• Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister & Finance Minister
• Rebecca Kitteridge, Director-General, NZ Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS)
• Professor Rod Jackson, Epidemiologist & Government Media Commentator
• Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa, Research Director, The Disinformation Project
• Kate Hannah, Director, The Disinformation Project

The petition accuses these individuals of avoiding accountability while maintaining influence or reputational status. It argues that the nation’s Covid response created a divided, damaged society and that the fallout from those policies continues to affect New Zealanders. Supporters of the petition say this is a rare chance for meaningful accountability, with the Commission legally empowered to summon witnesses and hold public hearings between August 2025 and the end of that year.

Organisers stress that unless public pressure is applied, the inquiry risks becoming a whitewash. They are urging the Commission to fully exercise its powers to summon those responsible for shaping the country’s pandemic policies—under oath and in the public eye.

The petition can be signed here.

Daily Telegraph New Zealand (DTNZ) is an independent news website, first published in October 2021. - where this article was sourced.