New Zealand’s COVID-19 Inquiry Enters 2nd Phase, as Coalition Partners ‘Agree to Disagree’

The inquiry into how NZ handled the pandemic will enter a second phase, causing NZ First to invoke an ‘agree to disagree’ clause in the coalition agreement.

A man walks past shops during a COVID-19 lockdown on Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand, on Nov. 22, 2021. Hannah Peters/Getty Images

New Zealand is to expand the terms of reference for the independent Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons Learned, as Internal Affairs Minister Brooke Van Velden announces the inquiry will enter a second phase with new commissioners.

That has prompted New Zealand First—one of three parties that make up the government, along with National and ACT—to use the “agree to disagree” clause of the coalition agreement to signal its opposition.