Quarantine Lottery System Unjustly Violated Rights, New Zealand Court Rules

New Zealand Army personal guard the front of a hotel in Auckland's CBD which is used as a COVID-19 isolation facility on Sept. 7, 2020, in Auckland, New Zealand. Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

A New Zealand High Court ruled that the government’s quarantine system, Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ), violated the rights of returning Kiwis in some cases due to its lottery system.

Grounded Kiwis, a body advocating for New Zealanders who wanted to enter the country but were prevented by COVID-19 restrictions, won its challenge against the minister of health, arguing that MIQ operated with unjustified limits.

The case focused on the period between Sept. 1, 2021, and Dec. 17, 2021, when the demand for MIQ spaces had significantly outstripped its capacity. It had operated with a voucher system, where spaces would be granted like a lottery without regard for how long a person had been waiting.

This meant many Kiwis seeking to return home were denied, violating their right to enter the country under the New Zealand Bill of Rights, the advocacy body argued.

Grounded Kiwis did not challenge the government’s decision to pursue a COVID elimination strategy, the reason for MIQ, nor did they challenge that reentry into the country be subjected to an MIQ system.

Justice Jillian Mallon ruled that the MIQ system “did not sufficiently allow individual circumstances to be considered and prioritised where necessary, it operated as an unjustified limit on the right of New Zealand citizens to enter their country.”

Mallon noted she was mindful that the public health risks of making the wrong decisions were “very significant.”

“I accept the [Health] Minister’s evidence that he was aware that the MIQ system imposed limits on the rights of New Zealanders to return and he was satisfied that they were justified,” she said in the judgement (pdf).

However, there had been insufficient processes that ensured the limits imposed by MIQ were justified, Mallon said.

Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins during a press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on January 24, 2021. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the government welcomed the judgement that requiring returnees to quarantine was lawful and acknowledged the court’s findings.

“We have long acknowledged the difficult trade-offs we’ve had to make in our COVID-19 response to save lives and the effects of those decisions on all New Zealanders, particularly those living abroad,” he said.

Hipkins called MIQ the “least worst option” in preventing COVID-19 from entering and spreading in New Zealand.

“We acknowledge that the Court has found that, for some citizens, the Virtual Lobby system as it operated between 1 September and 17 December 2021, may have infringed their right to enter New Zealand,” he said. “We are carefully considering the Court’s decision.”

The opposition party’s spokesman for COVID-19 response, Chris Bishop, called the ruling a victory for the many Kiwis who wanted to return home but couldn’t because of the MIQ lottery system.

“Kiwis were stuck offshore and couldn’t return even when their visa rights expired in the countries they were in,” Bishop said.

He noted the most prominent example of pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis, who was denied entry into the country, forcing her to turn to the Taliban.

After heavy criticism, the government later confirmed that Bellis and her partner had been offered MIQ places.