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| Inquiries Act 2013 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| New Zealand Parliament | |
| Assented to | 26 August 2013 |
| Commenced | 27 August 2013 |
| Legislative history | |
| Introduced by | Richard Worth |
| First reading | 28 July 2009 |
| Second reading | 20 August 2013 |
| Committee of the whole | 21 August 2013 |
| Third reading | 22 August 2013 |
| Status: In force | |
The Inquiries Act 2013 is an Act of the New Zealand Parliament that provides for a framework to conduct Royal Commissions of Inquiry, public, and government inquiries.
History
Law Commission's review of public inquiries
Before the Inquiries Act 2013 was passed into law, the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908 governed the operation of commissions and royal commissions of inquiry. Alongside royal commissions, the government would also hold ministerial inquiries.
On 28 August 2006, the New Zealand Law Commission started a review of the way inquiries are held in New Zealand with their terms of reference particularly concerning the Commissions of Inquiry Act, royal commissions and ministerial inquiries. In a draft submission, the Law Commission noted that their primary concerns regarding the existing framework were that the existing Commissions of Inquiry Act was antiquated and amended frequently in one-off situations, its provisions were confusing and that it placed constraints on the procedure of commissions of inquiry that added unnecessary time and cost to inquiries. The Law Commission's Issues Paper identified that commissions of inquiry, on average, would go beyond their deadline by 4 months.
On 26 May 2008, the Law Commission published its final review on public inquiries, recommending that a new Inquiries Act be created to largely replace the Commissions of Inquiry Act. On the same day, the Minister of Internal Affairs Rick Barker responded welcoming the Law Commission's review.
Introduction
On 29 September 2008, Barker introduced the Inquiries Bill to the New Zealand Parliament, replacing commissions of inquiry with public and government inquiries, and retaining royal commissions of inquiry. However, Barker introduced the bill after the 48th New Zealand Parliament had its final sitting on 23 September 2008, and the parliament was later dissolved on 3 October 2008.
First reading
On 8 December 2008, the 49th New Zealand Parliament met for the first time under the Fifth National Government, with Richard Worth as the new Minister of Internal Affairs, who took charge of the bill.
On 28 July 2009, the Inquiries Bill unanimously passed its first reading and was referred to the Government Administration select committee for consideration.
Second reading
On 20 August 2013, the Inquiries Bill passed its second reading with a large margin, but the vote was not unanimous. Notably, the Green Party abstained from the vote, with Green MP Holly Walker expressing concern over the ability of public and government inquiries to compel witnesses to provide documents and other information and how this could undermine the protection of journalist's sources. She further expressed her concern at "serious offenses and penalties" associated with not complying, which can result in a fine of up to $10,000 and contempt of inquiry proceedings could be brought against them in the High Court.
| Party | Votes for | Votes against | Abstentions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National (59) | 59 | — | — | |
| Labour (34) | 34 | — | — | |
| Green (14) | — | — | 13 | |
| NZ First (7) | 7 | — | — | |
| Māori Party (3) | 3 | — | — | |
| Mana (1) | — | — | 1 | |
| ACT (1) | 1 | — | — | |
| United Future (1) | 1 | — | — | |
| Independent (1) | — | 1 | — | |
| Total | 105 | 1 | 14 | |
Third reading
On 21 August 2013, the Inquiries Bill passed its third reading unanimously. This came after the Green Party's concerns were addressed in the committee of the whole house stage, as section 68 and 69 of the Evidence Act 2006 applied through clause 28 of the Inquiries Bill. Those sections protect journalists from being compelled to reveal their sources and the communication between MPs and their constituents.
On 26 August 2013, the Inquiries Bill received Royal assent and became law as the Inquiries Act 2013. It came into force on the next day.
Present day
Since it became law, the Inquiries Act 2013 has been used in a number of high-profile inquiries. Two royal commissions, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned and Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care were both conducted under the new provisions for royal commissions of inquiry under the Act. The Havelock North drinking water contamination was a government inquiry, established as the Government Inquiry into Havelock North Drinking Water.
Legislative features
Types of inquiries
The Inquiries Act 2013 allow for three different types of inquiries, royal commissions of inquiry, public inquiries, and government inquiries. The differences between these inquiries are primarily between the way they are established and how they report back their findings.
Royal commissions and public inquiries are established by the Governor-General on the advice of ministers and report back to the Governor-General. In contrast, government inquiries are established by a Minister through a notice in the New Zealand Gazette and report back to one or more ministers.
External links
- Inquiries Act 2013
- Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908
- Review on the role of public inquiries by the New Zealand Law Commission: Te Aka Matua o Te Ture
Notes
- This was conducted using a party vote, which allows a party's representative to cast all of its votes in one way. As this was not a personal vote, this table does not record the vote of each individual MP.
References
- ^ Inquiries Act 2013.
- ^ Inquiries Act 2013, s 2.
- ^ Inquiries Bill 2008 (283—3).
- "Inquiries Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 692. New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand House of Representatives. 22 August 2013.
- "Public inquiries". New Zealand Law Commission: Te Aka Matua o te Ture. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- The Role of Public Inquiries (NZLC IP1). New Zealand Law Commission: Te Aka Matua o Te Ture. 2007. p 7.
- Public Inquiries: Draft Report (NZLC IP5). New Zealand Law Commission: Te Aka Matua o Te Ture. 2007. p 5.
- The Role of Public Inquiries (NZLC IP1). New Zealand Law Commission: Te Aka Matua o Te Ture. 2007. p 51.
- A New Inquiries Act (NZLC R102). New Zealand Law Commission: Te Aka Matua o Te Ture. 2008.
- Barker, Rick (26 May 2008). "Law Commission's review of inquires and Royal Commissions welcomed". Beehive.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- Barker, Rick (30 September 2008). "Inquiries law reform". Beehive.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- "Adjournment". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 650. New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand House of Representatives. 23 September 2008. p. 19286.
- "Dissolving the Parliament of New Zealand". New Zealand Gazette. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
I, The Honourable Anand Satyanand, Governor-General of New Zealand, pursuant to section 18 of the Constitution Act 1986, hereby dissolve the Parliament of New Zealand. Given under the hand of His Excellency the Governor-General, and issued under the Seal of New Zealand on 3 October 2008.
- "Inquiries Bill—First Reading". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 656. New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand House of Representatives. 28 July 2009. p. 5205.
- ^ "Inquiries Bill—Second Reading". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 692. New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand House of Representatives. 20 August 2013. p. 12631.
- "Inquiries Bill—In Committee". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 692. New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand House of Representatives. 20 August 2013. p. 12716.
- "Inquiries Bill—Third Reading". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 692. New Zealand Parliament: New Zealand House of Representatives. 20 August 2013. p. 12763.
- "Havelock North Drinking-Water Inquiry established". Attorney-General, Hon Christopher Finlayson. 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Meares, Jane (6 April 2017). "Inquiries, reviews and reviews of inquiries…". Clifton Chambers. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.