Foreword

We know that Aotearoa New Zealand can get through a pandemic when faced with one. We know this because we have done it. The global experience with the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped our nation’s understanding of both who we are and how pandemics can disrupt, harm and destroy. But we can get through together. We know the truth of the whakataukī ‘He waka eke noa’: A canoe that we are all in – with no exception.

The National Ethics Advisory Committee (NEAC) offers this update to our 2007 guidance publication Getting through Together: Ethical values for a pandemic. 2 Our hope is that this updated guidance will protect all New Zealanders. However, we know some communities are likely to be particularly vulnerable. For example, Māori experience health inequities,3 and these are compounded in a pandemic.4 Māori and other communities have a history of resilience, and in this updated guidance, we seek to support these strengths through a call for equity and by fostering community participation.

We have deliberately sought to amplify the call for a te ao Māori and strengths-based approach to pandemic planning. This builds on the previous 2007 edition, which addressed the ethical issues in a pandemic by identifying shared values and offering broad guidance.

The principles in this set of guidance give us a shared basis for decision-making. Many of us, in many different situations, will still have to make hard choices. There are new pandemics on our horizon, and the better prepared we are, the better we will cope. The Government can prepare by investing in our health system and by connecting more strongly with the social infrastructure that exists in our diverse communities. The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) is the lead agency for this whole-of-government action. But the Ministry cannot succeed alone. Businesses, iwi, community groups, households and individuals also must play a part, as we are all critical in the success of any pandemic response.

The development of the Ethical Guidance for a Pandemic was made possible by the generosity and knowledge of many contributors. We are particularly grateful to those who contributed their time and expertise to ensure that equity was held at the heart of this guidance, and for those who contributed their stories of getting through together.

Professor John McMillan

Chair, National Ethics Advisory Committee