Your 2024 Guide to New Zealand Law Changes

We are well into the first year since the current government took office. With any new incoming government it can be a challenge to keep up with all the changes to legislation that take place. This guide is to help summarise some of the key changes that have taken place in 2024.

Irrespective of where you sit on the political spectrum, the current coalition government has set the record for laws being passed ‘under urgency’ in the first 100 days of any MMP government in history. This means, like it or not, that there has been wide sweeping changes to existing legislation, with laws being repealed or new legislation put in place.

What does it mean to have laws being passed ‘under urgency’?

It means a shortening of time available for debate on legislation and to truncate or skip entirely the usual select committee process.

The current government’s action plan wrapped up in March 2024 and resulted in 49 of its action points being checked off. In total, urgency has been declared 8 different times to pass 61 stages of 21 different bills, 13 of which were passed under urgency.

What was top of mind for kiwis leading into the 2023 election?

People using One News Vote Compass in the lead up to the 2023 general election were asked: "What issue is most important to you in this election?"

The top five issues identified through the responses included:

1. Cost of living (28%)
2. Economy (17%)
3. Healthcare (14%)
4. Crime (9%)
5. Environment (8%)

With inflation peaking in June 2022, the cost of living became and still remains a nationwide conversation. As a result, a good majority of action points formulated by the government came under this heading

Let's wind back to the result of the 2023 General Election

The 2023 coalition government of National, Act and New Zealand had a number of firsts.

• It was the first three party coalition in New Zealand's history - comprising of the National Party (38.08%), ACT Party (8.64%) and the New Zealand First Party (6.08%).
• 49 action points were agreed upon once the new government was officially sworn in for the first 100 days of the incoming government.

What was in, what was out?

The new coalition government embarked on an ambitious 100 day plan. This centered on three core categories:

1. Rebuild the economy & ease the cost of living
2. Restore law & order
3. Deliver better public services

Rebuild the economy & ease the cost of living

In total there were 24 action points that fell under this category.

1. Stop work on the Income Insurance Scheme.
2. Stop work on Industry Transformation Plans.
3. Stop work on the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme.
4. Begin efforts to double renewable energy production, including a NPS on Renewable Electricity Generation.
5. Withdraw central government from Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM).
6. Meet with councils and communities to establish regional requirements for recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent major flooding events.
7. Make any additional Orders in Council needed to speed up cyclone and flood recovery efforts.
8. Start reducing public sector expenditure, including consultant and contractor expenditure.
9. Introduce legislation to narrow the Reserve Bank’s mandate to price stability.
10. Introduce legislation to remove the Auckland Fuel Tax.
11. Cancel fuel tax hikes.
12. Begin work on a new GPS reflecting the new Roads of National Significance and new public transport
    priorities.
13. Repeal the Clean Car Discount scheme by 31 December 2023.
14. Stop blanket speed limit reductions and start work on replacing the Land Transport Rule: Setting of
    Speed Limits 2022.
15. Stop central government work on the Auckland Light Rail project.
16. Repeal the Fair Pay Agreement legislation.
17. Introduce legislation to restore 90-day trial periods for all businesses.
18. Start work to improve the quality of regulation.
19. Begin work on a National Infrastructure Agency.
20. Introduce legislation to repeal the Water Services Entities Act 2022.
21. Repeal the Spatial Planning and Natural and Built Environment Act and introduce a fast-track
    consenting regime.
22. Begin to cease implementation of new Significant Natural Areas and seek advice on operation of the
    areas.
23. Take policy decisions to amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to make it easier for build-to-rent
    housing to be developed in New Zealand.
24. Begin work to enable more houses to be built, by implementing the Going for Housing Growth policy
    and making the Medium Density Residential Standards optional for councils

Restore law & order

In total there were 8 action points that fell under this category.

25. Abolish the previous Government’s prisoner reduction target.
26. Introduce legislation to ban gang patches, stop gang members gathering in public, and stop known
    gang offenders from communicating with one another.
27. Give Police greater powers to search gang members for firearms and make gang membership an
    aggravating factor at sentencing.
28. Stop taxpayer funding for section 27 cultural reports.
29. Introduce legislation to extend eligibility to offence-based rehabilitation programmes to remand
    prisoners.
30. Begin work to crack down on serious youth offending.
31. Enable more virtual participation in court proceedings.
32. Begin to repeal and replace Part 6 of the Arms Act 1983 relating to clubs and ranges.

Deliver better public services

In total there were 17 action points that fell under this category.

33. Stop all work on He Puapua.
34. Improve security for the health workforce in hospital emergency departments.
35. Sign an MoU with Waikato University to progress a third medical school.
36. By 1 December 2023, lodge a reservation against adopting amendments to WHO health regulations to allow the government to consider these against a “national interest test”.
37. Require primary and intermediate schools to teach an hour of reading, writing and maths per day
    starting in 2024.
38. Ban the use of cellphones in schools.
39. Appoint an Expert Group to redesign the English and maths curricula for primary school students.
40. Begin disestablishing Te Pukenga.
41. Begin work on delivering better public services and strengthening democracy.
42. Set five major targets for health system, including for wait times and cancer treatment.
43. Introduce legislation to disestablish the Māori Health Authority.
44. Take first steps to extend free breast cancer screening to those aged up to 74
45. Repeal amendments to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 and regulations
46. Allow the sale of cold medication containing pseudoephedrine
47. Begin work to repeal the Therapeutics Products Act 2023
48. Establish a priority one category on the social housing waitlist to move families out of emergency
    housing into permanent homes more quickly
49. Commission an independent review into Kāinga Ora’s financial situation, procurement, and asset
    management

What has happened in the initial months following the election

• All 49 points of the above action plan have been delivered on within the first 100 days of government
• The inflation rate has fallen towards the target range as the Reserve Bank has continued to put in place measures to curb high inflation rates.
• Government department spending has reduced and tax cuts are set to be further deployed by July
• Cost of living concerns and higher interest rates remain on many kiwis minds
• Upcoming May budget is due out on the 30th May 2024. This is where kiwis will be able to see the books and how the current government is tracking relative to the pledges it has made.

Here is a podcast from New Zealand Herald in the lead up to the May budget - Budget 2024 preview: Can the Government deliver on its pledges?

What other legislation changes are being proposed, or have come into effect?

Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024

This bill passed its first reading on the 21st of May 2024. It proposes significant changes to rental laws. Submissions were closed on the 3rd of July with a report due back to the select committee later in 2024. The key proposed changes include:

• Re-instating 90 day "no cause" terminations for periodic tenancies
• Introducing pet bonds to encourage landlords to accept tenants with pets
• Allowance given to landlords to end fixed-term tenancies without specific reasons
• Enabling some Tenancy Tribunal decisions to be made without oral hearings

Employment Law Changes

• Repeal of the Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022
• 90-day trial periods can now be used by all employers, not just small businesses
• Minimum wage increase to $23.15 per hour from April 1st 2024
• Worker Protection (Migrant and other Employees) Act 2023 came into effect on January 6th 2024

Tax Policy Changes

• Potential increase in Trustee tax to 39%
• Plans to restore residential rental property interest deductability
• Proposed adjustment to individual income tax thresholds from July 2024.
• More information on the proposed tax changes can be found here

Firearm Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill

• The majority of recommendations by the Law Society were accepted. The bill's scope was refined to focus predominantly on gang-related offending.

Repeal of the Business Payment Practices Act 2023

• The government announced plans to repeal this act before its full provisions come into force on May 1st 2024.

New Migrant Worker Protection Measures:

• Employers must provide employment-related documentation within ten working days when requested by an Immigration Officer
• New immigration infringement notices have been introduced
• The Chief Executive of MBIE has gained new powers to publish names of employers not complying with the Immigration Act

Environmental and Energy Policy Changes:

• Discontinuation of the Clean Car Discount scheme (December 31, 2023)
• Proposed amendments to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 (currently under consultation):
• Changes proposed to modernise the Act and improve its operation
• Consultation opened in 2024 with submissions being invited
• Aims to ensure the regulatory framework remains fit for purpose for the energy transition

Canterbury Legal is committed to delivering high quality legal services and support to a wide range of kiwis. With many of the legislation changes over the last year we are well equipped to provide support across a wide range of different legal needs.

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