New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, this week announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand’s Covid response.

‘A Royal Commission of Inquiry … is the right thing to do, given the Covid emergency was the most significant threat to the health of New Zealanders and our economy since the second world war,’ she said.

According to Ardern, an inquiry is also needed because, while every country grappled with the virus, there was no playbook for managing it.