Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Madam Chair for the opportunity to take a call on this COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill (No 2). For the public listening at home this piece of legislation extends the Government's emergency powers substantially in a number of areas for an extra 12 months through to May 2023. That is something which I think needs to be noted to start with.The main contribution I want to focus on though is clause 12 which relates to checkpoints which is something which I know many Aucklanders have a very strong interest in at the moment due to the announcement yesterday that we'll finally be allowed out of Auckland from 15 December with the requirement to have either a vaccination certificate or to be able to produce a negative test within 72 hours.Whilst that decision seems to be pragmatic of sorts the real question is around how these checkpoints are going to be managed. The question I've got based upon clause 12 is that this bill now means it's no longer just going to be the police who could be manning these checkpoints but it could be a Māori warden it could be a nominated representative of an iwi organisation it could be a Pasifika warden or even a community patroller.So my question to the Minister in the chair the Hon Chris Hipkins is: will people leaving or coming into Auckland over these summer holidays potentially be stopped at a checkpoint or be stopped on the side of the road by any one of these four different groups either leaving or coming into Auckland?Hon Member: Which clause?SIMEON BROWN: Clause 12. Clause 12 gives the power for the enforcement officers to now be a whole range of additional categories under this piece of legislation. I'm not sure if the Minister's even read clause 12; he might like to take a quick look at it—clause 12.It says here in clause 12 that this means they will be able to put these people in place—the commissioner will be able to recognise these people as enforcement officers under this piece of legislation. And so we've got an amendment on the Table which effectively removes this increased power to be able to put in place a whole range of other people to be able to enforce these provisions.I can understand potentially why the Government's wanting to do this because the police are stretched. There are 500 police who are either in managed isolation and quarantine or sitting at the boundary checking people as we speak. Just imagine how many more police are going to be needed to be able to do those jobs over a very very busy summer when tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders who have been locked up for months and months and months will want to be heading away on holiday or going to reconnect with family and friends.So I would like the Minister to please explain why this clause is needed why the additional range of enforcement officers are required and what use he is planning to utilise these different groups of people to be able to enforce restrictions under this legislation. Will these newly appointed enforcement officers now be used at our border boundaries in checkpoint style? Will they also be entitled to stop people potentially in other areas around New Zealand—for example in the Coromandel—and ask people walking down the street Are you from Auckland? Have you got your vaccination certificate? Have you got proof of address?"These are very real questions which I think New Zealanders would like to know the answers to because this is a significant extension to the powers. I think the principle which most New Zealanders would agree with is that when it comes to enforcement of the law in general particularly powers which are included in this public health response legislation it should be the police and most people would expect that if they're going to be fined a thousand dollars for not complying it would be the police who would be enforcing those powers issuing the infringement notices stopping them and potentially turning them back if they don't follow. I think most New Zealanders would be saying "Actually it's the job of the police to be doing that." It's not the job of a community patroller or a Māori warden as good as they are as important as there role is in the community and in society and what they do.I mean these people all have an important role in New Zealand and I respect the role that they have but when it comes to enforcing pandemic powers which are incredibly incredibly powerful which are unheard of in terms of domestic restrictions—you know stopping people travelling around their own country and potentially fining them or turning them back—those are significant powers and I think most New Zealanders would say that's the role of the police.And so I think the Minister needs to take a call and explain very very clearly what he plans to use these new enforcement officers for and what they will not be used for and particularly when it comes to these new summer restrictions whether or not they will be used on the boundary or will it just be our police? And can he please answer that question—both going north of Auckland and also south of Auckland. What are the plans? Will it just be the police or will there be other organisations or groups under this particular section also being used to enforce these powers and what will New Zealanders be expected to see on our roads over summer?"