Northland’s local government leaders should all be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a leading New Zealand epidemiologist.
By Susan Botting, Local Democracy Reporter
Professor Michael Baker said all Northland’s local government elected members – like their counterparts throughout New Zealand – should be fully vaccinated against the virus.
His comments come as Northland’s first two community Omicron cases were confirmed, in Whangārei, on January 31.
Baker said Northland’s councillors and community board members were community leaders.
Vaccination protected representatives, their fellow councillors and community board members, and the wider Northland population as they went about their democratic roles.
Baker is a member of the Government’s Covid-19 technical advisory group and a public health physician and professor of public health at the University of Otago in Wellington.
He said his comments applied to local government elected representatives across New Zealand.
The Government has stopped short of mandating Covid-19 vaccinations for local government elected representatives.
But its call for vaccination continues.
Read more: Anti-vaxxers target Northland vaccine, testing site
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said vaccination was important.
“Vaccines are an important part of our public health response to Covid-19, especially with the emergence of Omicron in our communities.
"I want to continue encouraging everyone to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as they’re eligible, including those in the local government sector,” Mahuta said.
Former WDC councillor Robin Lieffering said the fact the government did not mandate Covid-19 vaccination for local government elected representatives did not change that residents and ratepayers expected their leaders to be fully vaccinated – and to make their status public
Lieffering said all local government elected representatives needed to be fully vaccinated.
“They are leaders in our community and should be setting good examples. Vaccination is what the community needs if we want to really be safe,” Lieffering said.
Lieffering said ratepayers deserved to know whether those they had elected were vaccinated, she said.
“They have a unique role as government locally. Councillors should be open and proud of their vaccination status, making this public.
“They are important role models in the push to get our community fully vaccinated.”
She said elected representatives who had not yet got vaccinated needed encouragement.
Councils with unvaccinated elected representatives needed to find ways for them to be part of the democratic process.
“We do need everybody to participate in decision making,” Lieffering said.
Read more: 13 unvaccinated Christchurch council staff lose jobs
Mahuta said councils were developing their own approaches for unvaccinated elected representatives.
"Local authorities have developed their own policies to manage access to council premises and facilities during the covid pandemic, including access by elected members.
"I am aware that some councils currently have unvaccinated elected members and have put processes in place to manage this,” Mahuta said.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
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