While the bill was supported by the Labour Government and their Green coalition partners, it was opposed by the opposition National, ACT, and Māori parties, which criticised the rushed and divisive nature of the legislation and claimed that vulnerable communities would be adversely affected.

Labour MPs Hipkins, Liz Craig, Tracey McLellan, and Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere defended the bill, claiming that it supported the Government's COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic-light system) and vaccination efforts.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer objected to the bill on the grounds that the Government's vaccination mandate and traffic light framework did not comply with the Treaty of Waitangi.

[9] During the third reading, ACT leader David Seymour joined the National Party in criticising the legislation, describing it as a "constitutional outrage" and attacking the Government's management of the COVID-19 pandemic and economy.

[13] On 3 December 2021, University of Auckland commercial law Associate Professor Gehan Gunasekara along with Dr Marcin Betkier and Kathryn Dalziel of the Privacy Foundation New Zealand expressed concern about the lack of a select committee process that would have allowed public consultation and the opaque language relating to the protection of COVID-19 contact tracing and vaccination information.

[3][4] The opposition National Party's COVID-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop welcomed the elimination of the My Vaccine Pass requirement and called for the Government to ditch the COVID-19 Protection Framework.

By contrast, the Greens' health spokesperson Teanau Tuiono described the easing of social distancing and vaccine mandate requirements as harmful to young children under the age of five.