Following the sentencing yesterday Dickason’s family released statements which expressed a deep dissatisfaction with the Labour government’s strict Covid-19 quarantine rules, which they believe exacerbated her mental health issues.
They also criticised the investigation and court process, highlighting the challenges posed by the MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) requirements.
One family member wrote:
‘We are angry with the New Zealand Government for such strict MIQ rules, even for families of five, with small children who are used to running around in South African gardens, having ample space to move around and run freely.’
Dickason’s father Malcolm Fawkes also questioned the draconian Covid-19 policies at the time, asking ‘Why did you impose such inhumane MIQ requirements on essential service people and others in general?’
The Dickason family had emigrated from Pretoria, arriving in New Zealand on August 28, 2021. They spent two weeks in managed isolation and then travelled to Timaru, where Dickason’s husband Graham had taken a job as an orthopaedic surgeon. Less than a week later the children were murdered, on 16 September.
Former Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins acknowledged the family’s difficult circumstances but refrained from further comment.
This article was originally published by DTNZ.
