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Dear John This time tomorrow we will be at alert level 2. My latest newsletter has information on what that means for us in our everyday lives, as well as for businesses. The state of emergency has also been lifted which means we are transitioning towards alert level 1. The Government will review this phased approach again on Monday 25 May. Not many people, however, are aware of the legislative logistics of a national state of emergency but in short, under the national state of emergency, the enforceability of alert levels requirements relied on the Epidemic Preparedness Act, the Health Act and the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act. With the lifting of the national state of emergency, a new legal framework was required in the form of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Bill for when we move to alert level 2. This controversial bill has been a hot topic of debate under urgency in Parliament before it was passed today. Serious concerns have been raised that this Bill was being rushed through Parliament without due process, without consultation and giving the Government the absolute power to force people to comply with any request without limitation, broad powers to enter people’s homes without a warrant and removes people’s right to refuse medical treatment. I spoke about these issues in the House today - you can view my speech here. National wanted to ensure that people's liberties are not compromised in this piece of legislation that will set the framework for life as we know it for the next couple of years. That is why we voted against the Bill. As always, I am keen to hear your thoughts on this. Regards
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