News

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, has voiced concerns over mining's special access rights to Department of Conservation land in her latest report, Making difficult decisions: Mining the conservation estate. Dr Wright says the current law gives mining an access...

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Justice Minister Simon Power and Housing Minister Phil Heatley have announced the reappointment of Rex Maidment as the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator. Mr Maidment has been reappointed for a further term of 3 years from 1 November. Read more

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Transmission Gully has moved a step closer today with Environment Minister Nick Smith referring a vital plan change to an independent Board of Inquiry. "The New Zealand Transport Agency is seeking changes to the Greater Wellington Regional Freshwater Plan. This plan change, if accepted,...

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Commerce Minister Simon Power today approved the Code of Professional Conduct for Authorised Financial Advisers. The approval means the Commissioner for Financial Advisers can now determine when the code can come into effect. "This is a significant step towards the full...

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The Government today placed into statutory management two further companies that hold assets on behalf of businesses associated with Mr Allan Hubbard, Commerce Minister Simon Power has announced. They are Hubbard Churcher Trust Management Ltd and Forresters Nominee Company Ltd, two companies...

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Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today that the government will be strengthening its commitment to the oil and gas sector by creating a larger and more high profile Crown Minerals Group within the Ministry of Economic Development. Read more

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"Voters will be able to re-enrol and update their details online in time for next year's general election, Justice Minister Simon Power said today. Cabinet has decided that legislation to be introduced to Parliament in November, is the first step in a process that will also eventually...

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Neighbourhood Policing Teams will help tackle crime at its source, by preventing wrongdoing before it happens, Police Minister Judith Collins says. "The first six of 16 Neighbourhood Policing Teams planned for the Counties-Manukau District are already making a real difference in...

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The Government will contribute up to $10 million in addition to local funding to assist with the repair, restoration and strengthening of heritage and character buildings in the Canterbury region, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Chris Finlayson announced today. Read more

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"Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the fast track process put in place to deal with minor house damage and lost contents has helped over 1,700 quake victims already. "We said we wanted minor claims resolved quickly and I'm pleased to report that over 1,700 of the...

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"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has published detailed guidelines to combatting bribery and corruption in offshore markets. The Ministry advises companies planning to enter a new market, or which are reviewing operating strategy in an existing market, to take a number...

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Minister for Courts Georgina te Heuheu has announced that everyone entering the Manukau District Court will be subject to fulltime security screening as from today. This comes two weeks after fulltime electronic screening was rolled out at the Auckland District Court. "The screening...

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The European Court of Justice has ruled that communication between in-house lawyers and management is not protected by legal professional privilege during competition investigations by the European Commission (EC). The ECJ found that, in order for the privilege to exist, the lawyer must be...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today announced the appointment of Hanneke Bouchier as Legal Complaints Review Officer and Owen Vaughan as her deputy. The appointments under the Lawyers and Conveyances Act 2006 are for terms of three years. "Ms Bouchier stepped up from the deputy role...

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Transport legislation which includes measures to improve the safety of young drivers and crack down on drink drivers has today passed unanimously through its first reading in Parliament. Transport Minister Steven Joyce says the legislation is a major step in the government's efforts to...

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Lawyers wanting to support their Canterbury colleagues who are facing stress and hardship after the earthquake are being encouraged to donate to a support fund. New Zealand Law Society Vice-President Anne Stevens has organised a special account to be set up under the umbrella of the...

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The New Zealand Law Society’s Property Law Section says a difficult situation is emerging with property settlements in the area affected by the Canterbury earthquake, and it may need government intervention. Property purchasers and sellers, lawyers, insurance companies and banks are...

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Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said: "While the global and domestic economies continue to recover, the outlook has weakened since our June Statement. We consider it appropriate at this point to keep the OCR on hold. "The earthquake that struck Canterbury on 4 September has...

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Press Release by New Zealand Government at 7:16 am, 16 Sep 2010 A bill to modernise the regulation of the private security industry has passed its third and final reading in Parliament tonight. Associate Minister of Justice Nathan Guy says the Private Security Personnel and Private...

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Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee confirmed today that the Electricity Authority will be established on 1 November 2010. Mr Brownlee said the Electricity Industry Bill will be passed through its remaining parliamentary stages next week, but the original date of 1 October for...

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Landmark legislation that achieves land justice for traditional owners was passed by Parliament last night, paving the way for the first native title settlement under the new framework, Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said today. Mr Hulls hailed the new law, which has been backed...

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"Manufacturers can’t just install their equipment in a business and walk away without checking the equipment for safety in the workplace according to the Department of Labour. The comments came after the sentencing today of an Auckland meat processing systems manufacturer over an...

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The Government has today officially responded to the Report of the Taskforce for Action on Sexual Violence. The response is being jointly led by Justice Minister Simon Power, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, and Associate Social Development Minister Tariana Turia. The Ministers...

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"The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill, which guarantees the rights of all New Zealanders in the marine and coastal area, has passed its first reading in the House. "Recreational interests in the common marine and coastal area, such as swimming, boating, walking, and...

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The new United Nations anti-crime chief vowed today to help improve the lives of people worldwide by championing public health, human rights and justice in the fight against drugs and corruption. Yury Fedotov took up his post as the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime...

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The new President of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, today outlined the body's priorities during its 65th session over the next year, identifying the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), reform of the United Nations and the promotion environmentally sustainable development as...

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"The United Nations advocate for children caught up in armed conflict today highlighted the special challenges facing young people uprooted within their own countries by war, stressing the need to ensure that they are protected and their rights are ensured. "There is no child in the...

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Local authorities recorded a seasonally adjusted operating deficit of $20 million in the June 2010 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. "The deficit this quarter is $81 million smaller than the March quarter deficit of $101 million," acting national accounts manager Jason...

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Former Polish prime minister Leszek Miller has denied any knowledge of a secret CIA prison in Poland. Miller's denial came after a former CIA agent confirmed that the agency tortured alleged USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in 2002 at a secret prison in Poland. Read more

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The French Senate on September 14 voted 246 to 1 to approve a bill that would make it illegal to wear the Islamic burqa or other full face veils in public. Under the legislation, women who wear the veil can be required by police to show their face, and, if they refuse, they can be...

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The UK Law Society is investigating a legal aptitude test to stem the tide of solicitors entering the profession. Should wannabe solicitors have to take a test before being allowed to start their vocational training? That is the question the Law Society is now investigating in an effort to...

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The Financial Markets Authority will have significant new powers under a bill introduced to Parliament on 14 September. The Financial Markets (Regulators and KiwiSaver) Bill sets out the objective and functions of the new regulator, which consolidates the regulatory functions currently...

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A bill to improve the governance and management of retail KiwiSaver schemes was introduced to Parliament on 14 September by Commerce Minister Simon Power. Mr Power says the regulatory regime around KiwiSaver needs to be robust for the 1.5 million people who have more than $6 billion in the...

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A bill that strengthens auditor regulation was introduced to Parliament on 14 September by Commerce Minister Simon Power. The Auditor Regulation and External Reporting Bill will require the Institute of Chartered Accountants to regulate auditors as a specialist profession, rather than as...

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Minister for Courts Georgina te Heuheu has announced that District Court jury trials will resume in Christchurch on 15 September. Six trials were postponed last week due to the likely unavailability of people during earthquake recovery efforts, the close proximity of the court complex to the...

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Inland Revenue has been given the power to waive interest on late tax payments for Canterbury earthquake victims, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has announced. "Tax affairs may be the last thing on quake victims' minds at a time like this, but at least we can make it one less thing for...

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The government is seeking industry and public feedback on regulatory issues that might arise if Telecom was to structurally separate. "Telecom New Zealand has recently announced that it is considering structural separation of its network and retail businesses in the context of the...

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An accounting firm is warning New Zealanders earning revenue overseas an Inland Revenue crackdown could catch them out. Dan Lowe, a tax associate for accounting firm Grant Thornton New Zealand, said an announcement from Inland Revenue showed it was going to target undeclared offshore income....

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"The Commerce Commission has today released guidelines to help trade associations understand their obligations under the Commerce Act. The guidelines are part of new series of guidelines and fact sheets focusing on the Commerce Act. “Belonging to a trade association can bring many...

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The government will introduce legislation tomorrow to facilitate recovery work in Canterbury, says Gerry Brownlee, the Minister responsible for coordinating the Government's recovery response to the Canterbury earthquake. "Canterbury has been under a state of emergency for nine days...

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The Commerce Commission has produced guidelines to assist purchasers to recognise and combat bid rigging.Because cartels are difficult to detect the guidelines attempt to highlight activities that may indicate that bid rigging has taken place. Suspicious “signs” however are not...

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Prime Minister John Key today outlined the terms of reference for an investigation he has directed into the NZ Security Intelligence Service's processes for granting a security clearance to former NZDF employee Stephen Wilce. Mr Wilce was appointed Chief Defence Scientist and Director of the...

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The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security must look into the recent high profile cases involving the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and its vetting procedures, Green Party Defence spokesperson Keith Locke said today. Mr Locke has today written to the Inspector-General of...

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A mother at the centre of an alleged child abandonment incident has been charged by Police. Acting Detective Sergeant Paul Van Der Zee of the Hamilton CIB said the 22-year-old mother has been charged with two counts of abandoning a child under six. The charges relate to an incident early...

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A group of business owners is campaigning to change a law it says is unfair and impossible to live up to. The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are angered by a section of the Companies Act which can see firms forced to hand back payments earned from client companies that subsequently go to...

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Jury trials scheduled for Monday and Tuesday next week have been postponed as Christchurch struggles to recover from Saturday's earthquake. The trials were all postponed this week because of the likely unavailability of people who had been summoned to serve as jurors. The decision to push...

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Breaching New Zealand fisheries law has proved expensive for the owners of the foreign-flagged ship, Ta Chun No 101. On 18 September 2009, the Chinese Taipei long-line tuna fishing vessel was spotted during a routine Royal New Zealand Air Force maritime surveillance patrol, some 77 nautical...

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The Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples, has announced the appointments of Sarah Reeves and Judge Heemi Taumaunu as Judges of the Māori Land Court. "Sarah Reeves (Te Atiawa) and Judge Taumaunu (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu) have ample skills and experience to undertake the...

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The Commerce Commission has advised complainants regarding new arrangements for taxis and shuttles at Wellington International Airport Limited that these arrangements are unlikely to breach the Commerce Act. The Commission received complaints following the airport’s move to a new layout...

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A number of law firms in Christchurch are still operating from temporary locations following the recent earthquake in the South Island. Chapman Tripp's Christchurch team have not been permitted to return to their office due to safety reasons and are working out of the All Seasons Hotel....

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