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The NZDF has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court with a view to overturning the recent Court of Appeal decision which upheld an appeal by members of the New Zealand Defence Force and decided that the Defence Force's internal workplace Covid-19 vaccination mandate was unlawful.

In a statement to ZB Plus this afternoon, a spokesperson for the NZDF said, "An application for leave to appeal has been filed. The NZDF will not be making any further comment as the matter is currently before the Court."

In February, the Court of Appeal ruled that in relation to the NZDF's own vaccination mandate, the Defence Force had limited the right to refuse medical treatment and to manifest religious belief.

The Court of Appeal decided that the Chief of the Defence Force was not justified in limiting those rights by imposing a vaccine mandate in the way that he did. 

In their decision, a bench of three Court of Appeal judges stated, "It should have been very clear to the NZDF, following the Yardley decision, that any materially less-flexible response to a failure to be vaccinated would require clear justification."

The judgment stated that the evidence provided by the Defence Force, "fell well short of providing justifications for the relevant measures that are sufficient to meet the s 5 NZBORA (New Zealand Bill of Rights) burden."

Following the decision, lawyer Matthew Hague who represented the appellants in the Court of Appeal said, "It is a fantastic result for the protection of fundamental rights in New Zealand."

"Members of our Armed Forces sacrifice much in the service of our country, which means upholding their fundamental rights all the more important.

"I call on the Chief of Defence to reinstate everyone who lost their jobs because of the unlawful mandate."

ACT Justice and Health spokesperson Todd Stephenson said, “The Court of Appeal’s ruling against the Defence Force's vaccination mandate demonstrates the need to open up the independent Covid inquiry,” says ACT Justice and Health spokesman Todd Stephenson.

• NZDF Covid mandate ruled unlawful by Court of Appeal
• NZDF responds following Court of Appeal defeat

“Jacinda Ardern stressed the independence of the Covid Royal Commission while at the same time hamstringing it by limiting its terms of reference, giving it very little scope to investigate whether major reductions to our freedoms were justified.

“All New Zealanders were affected by the previous government’s Covid response, and we shouldn’t have to rely on ad hoc challenges in the Courts to answer basic questions like whether government agencies were justified in curtailing our rights and freedoms.

“ACT was very pleased to secure a commitment in its coalition agreement to open up the terms of the inquiry. New Zealanders can now tell the Royal Commission exactly what they think it should investigate, whether it’s the justification of vaccine mandates and extended lockdowns, or the impact of lockdowns on business and kids’ schooling.

"ACT opposed the previous Government's heavy-handed mandates, proposing a vax or test alternative instead."