Follow the podcast on

Health Minister Simeon Brown releasing the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into NZ’s Covid-19 response, Parliament, Wellington, New Zealand, March 10, 2026. Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell

'Should have been transparent': Health Minister on the findings from the Covid-19 inquiry

Author: Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026, 5:49pm

The Health Minister has raised some concerns after the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19’s final report was released.

The report found that New Zealand's approach was good overall, but the previous Government was too slow in some areas, and some restrictions went too far.

Simeon Brown says the data shows that the previous Government kept New Zealand locked down for far too long and spent too much money, and the nation is still facing the consequences.

"The reality here is, the Royal Commission has found that the Ministry of Health, and Ashley Bloomfield provided advice that it could have been lifted earlier - and ultimately, Cabinet decided not to. And those are questions that should be put to Chris Hipkins."

LISTEN ABOVE