This post is not legal advice. It is a very broad overview of the vax legislation presently before Parliament. I am working off the version of the bill on the legislation website which may not be the latest version. For overall purposes, I am sure it gives the flavour.
The Covid-19 response vaccinations legislation Bill provides for the broadening of covid-19 orders to reflect the new measures under the protection framework. It is important to note that previous vax mandates related to teachers healthcare border workers who are all employed by government organizations. This bill extends mandating to private citizens businesses and employees. Entities that carry out rights restricting activity can be regarded as government conduits.
It also provides for forms of acceptable evidence of compliance with orders and it makes it an offence to hold store use or disclose personal information from vaccination certificates except for law enforcement purposes.
It provides that enforcement officers can direct a person to produce evidence to demonstrate compliance with an order under the act.
In addition, the bill amends the principal covid-19 public health response Act 2020 to support future vaccination or testing mandates for work in the public interest and provides for regulations to be made at prescribing assessment tools that PCBU's may use to ascertain whether it is reasonable for work to be carried out only by the workers who are vaccinated or tested. This is making private entities conduits for government restriction of rights.
The bill also makes amendments to the employment relations Act 2000 allowance for paid time off for vaccinations, four weeks paid notice for termination if the work required vaccination but an employee is unvaccinated and relating to personal grievances
Previous amendments have been in relation to mandating particular employees in certain areas such as teaching healthcare etcetera The important thing about this new bill is that it is effectively a mandate on private citizens either as consumers or employees. This is a reverse mandate that restricts freedom of movement and discriminates. The mandate is carried out by making amendments either by inserting sections or new definitions into the principal covid response Act. The Bill is largely concerned with the vaccination status of people entering PCUBS and people employed by PCUBS.
Section 11 widens the scope of orders that can be made under the principal act. Certain premises to only accessed with a covid vaccination certificate. Other broad amendments to section 11 require affected workers to be vaccinated but at this stage, I don't know the extent of the premises that that is required to cover.
The Bill also introduces new sections to the Act which cover duties in relation to specified work. The duty to keep vaccination records and the duty to prevent a worker from carrying out specified work unless vaccinated.
So to start with the issue of the amendment of section 11 relating to orders that can be made under the principal covid response Act certain sections are replaced allowing orders to be made to stay in any specified area or refrain from going to any specified area or premises or to permit entry to any specified areas only in specified circumstances or in compliance with specified measures.
Section 11 is further amended by inserting a section allowing orders to be made requiring persons to permit individuals to enter a place or receive service whether or not those individuals are vaccinated have a vaccination certificate or are otherwise able to produce evidence of their vaccinations status.
Under the same inserted section an order can be made specifying the evidence that may be required to be produced and the person to whom the evidence may be required to be produced to demonstrate compliance with the specified measure for example specifying that a covid-19 vaccination certificate is required to be produced to enter certain premises and providing for any provisions or duties that apply respect of the use of that evidence.
So this particular amended section relates to the ability to make an order specifying what has to be produced by certain people to enter certain premises which relates to the protection framework known as the traffic light system.
There is also insertion into the principal act where an order can be made specifying the required doses for each covid-19 vaccine or combination of vaccines such to constitute covid-19 vaccination. This obviously is a pin cushion provision in relation to booster shots.
It also inserts provisions specifying who is eligible to be issued vax passports, how an application is to be made, providing for the issue of vaccination certificates, providing for the form and content of certificates, specifying the period for which certificates are valid or the conditions under which covid-19 certificates may expire.
My big takeaway from this very cursory look at the bill is that businesses rely on the governments view that this legislation is consistent with the bill of rights act at their own peril. If it is not they may be a party to breaches of human rights which could be expensive.
Comments
Post a Comment