“The High Court has agreed with ACT’s call to move on from Government vaccine mandates, pointing out that vaccination is doing little to reduce spread,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

The Judge finds:

"COVID-19 clearly involves a threat to the continuity of Police and NZDF services. That is because the Omicron variant in particular is so transmissible. But that threat exists for both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. I am not satisfied that the Order makes a material difference, including because of the expert evidence before the Court on the effects of vaccination on COVID-19 including the Delta and Omicron variants."

“By finding that excluding those unvaccinated workers makes little material difference to spread, the Judge has echoed arguments ACT made earlier in the week. The costs and benefits of vaccination mandates do not stack up.

“By finding the mandating order should be set aside now, the Judge dismissed the argument that we should keep policies until Omicron peaks. He said ‘it is apparent from such waves of infection in other countries that ultimately the levels of infection drop. In other words it has a relatively temporary but very significant impact.’

“By saying the Government mandates should be set aside but the employers should be able to make their own policies, the judge has sided with ACT’s policy, released in October, that it should be up to each organisation to make policies as it sees fit.

“ACT’s policy to move on from fear and rules that don’t make sense is well supported by this judgement. The same logic is applicable to other mandated workforces and to access to public places. If the Government takes the Judge's findings seriously, it will follow ACT’s policy of dumping Government mandates and letting private organisations make their own policies, as the Police and Defence Force will now be able to do."

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