Last year a swathe of new rental reforms were passed into law. This week, a number of those finally come into effect. So what can you expect? What’s all this? The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 delivered one of the most significant updates to our rental regulations in years. While some of those changes are … Read more
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first. Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on a similarly evil institution … Read more
Without a strong legal and ethical framework and clear policy for use, FRT can have grave implications for individual and collective rights, writes Nessa Lynch. Automated facial recognition technology, which involves the use of an algorithm to match a facial image to one already stored in a system, is used in automated passport control and … Read more
The Borrowdale case, which goes before a full bench in the High Court today, demonstrates a society taking its basic governing commitments seriously, writes Andrew Geddis. As time goes by, it becomes ever more apparent that New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has worked as well as we could hope. We didn’t just flatten the curve, … Read more
With its use criticised in cases like Grace Millane’s, criminology lecturer Dr Samantha Keene outlines the many reasons why the ‘rough sex’ defence is so problematic. Internationally, concerns are being raised about the increasing use of the “rough sex gone wrong” claim in courtroom defences to murder. Campaigners at We Can’t Consent To This point … Read more
As the question of whether the lockdown notices were lawful continues to fester, Andrew Geddis takes a deep dive into the issues at play. Now that the threat of Covid-19 has been vanquished like The Beast in Krull – apparently struck down, but always threatening to rise again – we can pause and take stock … Read more
The seriousness of the restrictions we’re living under deserves a much sounder legislative footing, write law professors Andrew Geddis and Claudia Geiringer. They should have a clear, certain basis in law and be imposed through a transparent and accountable process. Let’s start with the good stuff. New Zealand’s “go hard, go early” lockdown approach looks … Read more
On Friday night, the government quietly laid down some lockdown rules via a legal order under the Health Act. Law professor Andrew Geddis explains what it means for all of us (including David Clark). As the first week of level four lockdown unfolded, mounting questions grew as to just what was (and was not) allowed … Read more
Sweeping new restrictions on travel and assembly are being rolled out, with more likely. Andrew Geddis details the laws which allow the government to impose them. Covid-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. … Read more
The rise of litigation funding in New Zealand puts politicians and business leaders on notice – their actions will now be policed by a powerful new sheriff, writes Chris Lee. In business, as in life, there may be a range of thought processes that quell the temptation to cheat. One would hope that for the … Read more
Vague and antiquated legal language undermines complainants in cases of sexual assault, writes New Zealand Law Journal editor Brenda Midson. One of New Zealand’s most notorious sexual misconduct cases re-emerged recently when a ringleader of the Roast Busters, a group of teenagers who were investigated five years ago for alleged sexual offences against underage girls, gave … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week, he talks to Nick Whitehouse, CEO and co-founder of McCarthyFinch, … Read more
As Russell McVeagh hits the headlines again for inappropriate behaviour by a senior staff member, former lawyer Sacha Judd says time is up on the bullying, macho, sexist culture of the legal profession. This speech was given last night at the Auckland University Law Review Alumni Dinner. I was an editor of the Auckland University … Read more
This week the Supreme Court dipped its toes into the troubled waters of the Crown’s settlement negotiations with Hauraki iwi in a decision on whether or not Ngāti Whātua can challenge elements of that settlement in court. Lawyer and mediator Baden Vertongen (Ngāti Raukawa) peels back the complex layers of that decision. In 2006, Ngāti Whātua sought to … Read more
Bevan Marten, the lawyer on a one-man crusade to ensure parents can name their children Justice, is still fighting. Back in January I wrote an article for this website arguing that people should be allowed to name a child “Justice”. It is a name that is often rejected by New Zealand’s Registrar of Births, Deaths and … Read more
Steven Price, who argued against Māori Television in their landmark defamation case this week, explains exactly what the new defamation defence actually means, why it’s such a big deal and who really won the case. I had an odd experience the other night. I had just popped the cork on a bottle of bubbly with Felix … Read more
A select committee has proposed limiting the kinds of products the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill will apply to, and plenty of folk ain’t happy about it. What’s the story? Back in 2016, then Green MP Steffan Browning introduced a member’s bill that proposed mandatory country-of-origin labelling (CoOL) on all … Read more
In the third part of the new podcast series Venus Envy, Zoë Lawton and Hayden Wilson discuss how the culture and corporate structure of law firms created a fertile environment for sexual assault. While #MeToo was born out of the Hollywood film industry in the US, the legal profession has been at the centre of … Read more
Last week, a United Nations committee noted concerns about the lack of constitutional protection in New Zealand for some types of human rights, including rights of Māori. Treaty and constitutional law lecturer Carwyn Jones recommends the government revisit the relevant documents. Concerns were expressed last week by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural … Read more
The legal profession has done a lot of soul searching since the revelations about widespread sexual harassment at the law firm Russell McVeagh. But, asks commercial litigation lawyer Ana Lenard, why have we heard from so few men? It has been nearly a month since Newsroom exposed sexually inappropriate behaviour by senior male lawyers at … Read more
A new app seeks to simplify the complexities around sex, consent and what is or isn’t allowed during intercourse. Law professor Simon Connell looks at the implications of LegalFling. It seems that there’s an app for everything these days. Cue Dutch company LegalThings, whose app called LegalFling purports to solve the tricky problem of sex … Read more