Thread by @GroundedKiwis

1/ Today, the High Court held that, because MIQ did not sufficiently allow individual circumstances to be considered and prioritized where necessary, it operated as “an unjustified limit on the right of New Zealand citizens to enter their country.”

2/ We are thrilled that what we have known for so long to be morally wrong has also been recognized as inconsistent with the government’s legal obligations.

3/ It’s an emotional day for those who were affected: while welcoming this acknowledgment, it doesn’t erase the pain. Nothing makes up for the trauma of missing the opportunity to say goodbye to a dying loved one, being separated from young children for months, etc.

4/ But we hope that what happened today provides guiding principles for how such issues should be considered in the future. Let’s look at some key points.

5/ New Zealanders’ right to enter New Zealand is a fundamental right, and any restrictions on this right need to be justified. Public health concerns must be balanced against this right.

6/ While MIQ was justified, the virtual lobby was “a flawed system” and “not an appropriate mechanism where demand significantly exceeded supply and those seeking to access that supply had a fundamental right that was potentially impacted to different degrees.”

7/ Some New Zealanders experienced unreasonable delays in returning. The emergency allocation procedure was inadequate to ensure New Zealanders could return if facing an unreasonable delay or had a need to return that warranted priority.

8/ The government did not make sufficient efforts to identify affected people or properly gather information from overseas New Zealanders that would have enabled systems changes. Instead, the Court cited work done by Grounded Kiwis in identifying issues.

9/ Thanks to all of you who supported us in some many ways. This battle hasn’t always been easy, but this was a cause we felt obligated to take on. What matters most here is not the legal history that was made today, but what so many New Zealanders suffered unnecessarily.

10/ We hope that this painful experience for our country – for our people – is over, never to be repeated. He aha te mea nui o te ao ? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata (What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people)