The High Court has quashed the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for police and Defence Force staff.

The order required Defence Force personnel, and police constables, recruits and authorised officers to have two doses of the vaccine by March 1, or face termination.

Fewer than 300 of the more than 31,000 staff affected by the mandate across the organisations remain unvaccinated.

On January 6, three unvaccinated staff sought a judicial review of the mandate.

They were supported by affidavits from 37 of their colleagues in the same situation.

Justice Cooke today released his decision which upheld their claims the vaccination order breached their rights under the Bill of Rights Act.

While the judge did not accept some of the applicants' arguments, he agreed the mandate infringed on section 11 and section 15 of the Act - the right to be free to refuse medical treatment and the right to manifest religious beliefs for those who decline to be vaccinated. This is due to the vaccine being tested on cells derived from a human foetus.

Justice Cooke points out the court's decision did not affect any other vaccine mandates nor internal vaccination policies of the police or Defence Force.

"In essence, the order mandating vaccinations for police and NZDF staff was imposed to ensure the continuity of the public services, and to promote public confidence in those services, rather than to stop the spread of Covid-19,” he says.

'Indeed health advice provided to the government was that further mandates were not required to restrict the spread of Covid-19. I am not satisfied that continuity of these services is materially advanced by the order."

He finds little evidence that the small number of staff who remain unvaccinated is any different from the number that would have remained unvaccinated and employed had the matter been dealt with by 'pre-existing internal vaccine policies” applied by the forces.

Neither, finds Justice Cook, is there any hard evidence that this number of personnel materially effects the continuity of NZDF and police services.

"Covid-19 clearly involves a threat to the continuity of police and NZDF services. That is because the Omicron variant in particular is so transmissible. But that threat exists for both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. I am not satisfied that the order makes a material difference, including because of the expert evidence before the court on the effects of vaccination on Covid-19 including the Delta and Omicron variants.”

National Party leader Christopher Luxon. File Image.

Justice Cooke did however make clear that the decision did not in any way question the effectiveness of the vaccine.

"The evidence shows that vaccination significantly improves the prospects of avoiding serious illness and death, even with the Omicron variant,” he says.

'It confirms the importance of a booster dose given the waning effect of the first two doses of the vaccine.

"But the order made in the present case is nevertheless unlawful and is set aside."

The applicants were awarded costs.

The Attorney-General David Parker has declined to comment on the decision or whether the government will appeal.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon says the ruling should be a 'wake-up call” to the Government regarding vaccine mandates.

'Omicron has changed the game,” he says.

'Vaccine mandates made sense against Delta, because the vaccine was very effective at preventing infection and transmission. They make much less sense against Omicron.

'National's view is that mandates should be progressively phased out as soon as possible once we are through the peak of Omicron.

'Kiwis have done the right thing – getting vaccinated in record numbers and getting boosted. Now they're looking for a pathway back to normality.”

- with RNZ