van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's important that we're having this debate today because this situation was one unlike we have ever experienced in living memory and I think it's important to reflect on the unprecedented impositions that were placed on people's lives through this period. Of course that was in response to a global pandemic that no one knew quite what it was going to be like or how bad it might be. We had some estimates but of course a response was needed and indeed the Government did respond. I think most New Zealanders were quite prepared to accept a level of action in that very initial phase just because there was so little certainty around what the situation might evolve to become. But as time progressed there became an increasing level of concern less certainty and increasing frustration and I think some of those aspects were noted in this report where there were a number of challenges identified that could have been managed better.There were some aspects that were done well and I do want to acknowledge that but when we look back at this sort of a situation it's really critical that we take the lessons that can help any potential future situation be handled better more efficiently and with less impact upon the New Zealand population. In this situation there were a number of areas where that impact bore through. Of course we had a very low death rate initially a low number of cases initially. As the response progressed and the rules changed that evolved as well obviously to the point where now we still see a regular number of cases and deaths as a result of COVID-19. But life is effectively back to normal in terms of the impositions that have been brought about.However throughout that period those impositions had a massive impact. I think that's one of the key lessons that we need to keep in mind. I note the previous speaker Dr Tracey McLellan's comments that this does seem in one regard a long time ago but actually for many people it is still very fresh in their minds because not only was it the risk of COVID-19 but in many cases that risk was outweighed by the reality of the direct impositions they faced in their lives and that may have manifested in any number of ways. For example not being able to see family members ageing family members; the inability to attend funerals—some of those aspects that were highlighted. Of course then there was the business impact as well and we've seen many businesses fail off the back of this.Just one of the aspects I wanted to touch on that I thought really highlighted the lack of clarity was around the issues raised relating to some of the jargon or the terms. I think it's important that the use of the word jargon" here has been used by the Regulations Review Committee because that does actually reflect better the terms that were outlined. In this example I'm referring to the contrast between a "close contact" and a "casual contact" where people were left wondering what that actually meant and how that would play out in their daily lives for their families their communities their businesses and indeed across the country. It was those sorts of things that led to a level of concern within the community that whilst the initial response had been swift in terms of making some meaningful changes to try and reduce the impact on the country actually we ended up in a situation where the potential of that impact was significantly outweighed by the reality of the cost the toll that it took on communities families and businesses across the country.So it is really critical that we look back at how we might have been able to do that better and some of those questions as well which have been alluded to by other speakers around the speed at which Parliament progressed the primary legislation under urgency obviously then leading to secondary legislation - making powers being significantly relied upon in terms of the response. That I think is an area that we need to look at and I hope that the Government will consider that in the context of the current process as well where they continue to push legislation through with very little scrutiny. I think we need to really be mindful of the impact and this highlights for me that what we do here has such an impact in the real world and we must always try to do it better so it's encouraging to see recommendations suggesting those improvements that could be made. Thank you Madam Speaker."