NZCPR Weekly: Important Developments

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

In this week’s NZCPR-Weekly newsletter, we look into some important new developments – the announcement of a new election date, the start of the first High Court case for claims under the Marine and Coastal Area Act, and the High Court decision on the legitimacy of the Alert Level 4 lockdown, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Karl du Fresne explains why the Government’s border management is a fiasco, and our poll asks whether you agree with Minister Chris Hipkins that his Government is “the one source of truth”.

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Barry Soper: Government will struggle to justify unlawful lockdown

Hats off to Andrew Borrowdale. Who is he, your may well ask? He's a Wellington lawyer - in fact he used to write laws for Parliament.

He was so agitated about the lack of legal grunt behind the country being locked down on March 26 that he took a case to the High Court to challenge it - and today he won.

Borrowdale didn't argue about the wisdom of people staying at home, but he did argue about the Government's right to order them to do so.

His view was reinforced by a Crown Law Office opinion, that he didn't see before mounting his challenge, circulated to interested parties. The police top brass saw it and warned its officers that if they arrested people for being out and about during the first nine days of the lockdown they could be skating on thin ice.