Media Release

Organisation: Hon David Cunliffe Chairperson Regulations Review Committee

For release: 1 December 2016

Inquiry into Parliament’s legislative response to future national emergencies

The Regulations Review Committee has reported to the House on its inquiry into Parliament’s legislative response to future national emergencies. The report contains 11 recommendations which all members of the select committee have agreed to.

The Inquiry into Parliament’s legislative response to future national emergencies began in August 2014 and received over 30 submissions.

The committee would like to thank all the submitters for contributing to the inquiry. Their submissions were vital to the final outcome of this report.

The committee’s recommendations are:
• Theme One: executive powers to override enactments should extend only as far as is necessary to deal with the emergency itself, and should only be exercised for that purpose

o Emergency legislation should be bespoke for each national emergency and confer powers only as necessary to each situation. Generic national emergency legislation should not be passed in advance.

o As much time as possible in the circumstances should be allowed for select committee consideration of emergency legislation.

o Existing select committees should consider emergency legislation.

o Emergency legislation should take the form of primary legislation wherever reasonably possible, rather than relying on broad powers to make delegated legislation.

• Theme Two: emergency legislation should incorporate safeguards

o Powers to override enactments by Order in Council should provide a positive list of the specific enactments that can be overridden.

o Orders in Council should be subject to scrutiny before and after they are made.

o The right to seek judicial review of Orders in Council made under emergency legislation should be preserved and upheld.

o Legislation for national emergencies should have regard to international norms and benchmarks.

o Bespoke emergency powers should be in force only for as long as is reasonably necessary, and should have built-in sunset provisions.

• Theme Three: any legislative response to a national emergency should be designed to ensure that recovery from the emergency begins on day one

o Legislation must reflect the principle that recovery from a national emergency starts on day one.

o The responsible Minister should formally report, annually, to the House on the exercise of powers under the emergency legislation and on progress with the recovery effort.

For more details about the inquiry, read the full report on the Parliament website.

ENDS

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