Current and former Labour leaders and ministers deciding not to appear at the Royal Commission's Covid inquiry is being described as 'disgraceful'. 

Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Grant Robertson and Ayesha Verrall, who were all involved in Covid decisions - have declined invitations to appear. 

They say it would have been performative - not informative - and there's a risk livestream recordings could be manipulated and misused. 

National MP Chris Bishop says they should front up because New Zealanders deserve answers over the scale of Covid spending, which is still having impacts.

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• Jason Walls: Will Jacinda Ardern give evidence for the Covid-19 inquiry?
• 'Unhelpful': Minister Brooke van Velden responds to Hipkins' claims about the Covid inquiry
• Thomas Coughlan: Is Chris Hipkins being combative about the Covid inquiry?
• Covid-19 Royal Commission: Ardern’s ‘single source of truth’ comment was ‘unhelpful’
• Ardern and other former ministers refuse to appear in public before Royal Commission