In this episode we discuss: Christopher Luxon PM – is he dead man walking, or is he taking the rap for the shortcomings of others, or is this a massive media beatup; a select committee inquiry into social media harm makes a number of recommendations – we find out which ones the panelists support and don’t support; the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons is released tomorrow – focusing on lockdowns, mandates and the impact these decisions have had on society, our health and education, and on our economy. What do we want and need to see in the report – and an interesting mea culpa from a leading media personality; and Operation Epic Fury – do our panel support the war on Iran?
GOVERNMENT RECEIVES FINAL COVID INQUIRY REPORT
The Government welcomes the delivery of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons… Both the ACT-National and New Zealand First-National coalition agreements included commitments to expanding the Inquiry into COVID-19, showing that a review into the response was important to many Kiwis. “New Zealanders told us they weren’t satisfied with the narrow terms of the first phase of the Royal Commission’s inquiry – terms set by the same Government that made the decisions the Commission was investigating. It was important that we expand the Inquiry’s terms of reference to focus on the use of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, in particular inquiring into whether the Government considered the impact these decisions would have on society, our health and education, and on our economy.
The Royal Commission’s final report will be made public when the report is presented to Parliament on 10 March 2026. (day after Monday night’s show!!!)
The Royal Commission was established on 9 December 2022 to examine New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 and identify the lessons learned that should be applied in future. In November 2024 the Government announced an expansion on the scope of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to include a review of the key decisions taken by the Government in New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 during 2021 and 2022.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-receives-final-covid-inquiry-report
GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT REVIEW INTO RESERVE BANK’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
SOCIAL MEDIA INQUIRY
NEW ZEALAND SHOULD LOOK OVERSEAS TO ADDRESS SOCIAL MEDIA HARM, COMMITTEE LEAD SAYS
A leading member of the government’s inquiry into social media harm says New Zealand wants to be a ‘fast follower,’ not a leader. Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee has released its final report on the inquiry into the harm social media causes for young people, offering recommendations including banning under-16 year olds from social media. The report found while New Zealand had multiple pieces of legislation related to online content regulation – such as the Harmful Digital Communications Act – there was no specific legislation regulating online platforms for user safety.
MP WHO INITIATED INQUIRY DISAPPOINTED WITH ‘PREDETERMINED’ OUTCOME
The MP who initiated an inquiry into the harms of social media for young people has disagreed with its recommendations, which include a ban on social media for children under 16. Dr Parmjeet Parmar is the Act Party’s representative on Parliament’s education and workforce select committee, whose report has been published today. Act also disagrees with its recommendation to ban “nudify” applications, which make it easy to create sexual images of people. It says that, rather than regulating technology companies, the action itself should be criminalised.
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR UNDER-16S: MPS BACK NEW ONLINE REGULATOR, RAISE VPN CONCERNS
The Education and Workforce select committee confirmed its call to ban social media firms from opening accounts for people under 16 and backed the establishment of a new national online safety regulator and controls on social media algorithms. It also went further than in a draft report it released in December by suggesting that the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) by internet users “warrants further exploration by the Government”.
