The Government must reconsider their refusal for Parliamentary inquiries into the riots after today’s announcement that New Zealanders will have to wait until March 2023 for the complete IPCA report, National’s Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“An IPCA investigation is appropriate, but it won’t cover all the aspects that need to be reviewed.

“What about the role of the Speaker, Parliamentary Services or what can the Police Commissioner tell us on what did or didn’t happen?

“For the Prime Minister to use the IPCA inquiry as an excuse to block the Justice select committee hearing from the Police Commissioner is laughable – especially when the Commissioner went on television to discuss the protest while it was still happening.

“The existence of an IPCA investigation provides no justification for blocking every other form of inquiry. I’m calling on the Labour MPs in the Justice Committee to reconsider their refusal.”