Government defends MIQ amid 'shifting sands'

Chris Hipkins said his priority was to protect vulnerable communities (Image: Getty)

Wed, 16 Feb 2022

The government yesterday defended its managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) system in the Wellington high court, with its lawyers saying that the system was designed to uphold New Zealanders’ rights to return home rather than breach them.This was in response to submissions from advocacy group Grounded Kiwis the day before, which argued that the MIQ system breached the “foundational right” New Zealanders had to return to their own country and had created feelings of despair and abandonment in those trapped overseas.Section 18(...

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