Summary of the latest COVID-19 news for lawyers

The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa is reviewing the Coronavirus situation on a daily basis and will provide regular updated advice from reputable sources for the law profession. A special website section has been set up and is kept updated. Below is a summary of the…

Courts should function to fullest extent they safely can, says Chief Justice

The heads of bench are agreed that the courts should function to the fullest extent they safely can, in performance of their constitutional role, the Chief Justice, Dame Helen Winkelmann, says. In a letter to the legal profession, Dame Helen says this is against the background of the fact that the…

New Land Transport Rule extends WOF and other expiry times

A new Land Transport Rule - the COVID-19 Response (No 1) 2020 - has been made, effective from 10 April 2020. The rule states that all driver licences, WoFs, CoFs, and some vehicle certifications, that expired on or after 1 January 2020 will be valid for up to six months from…

State of National Emergency extended again

Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare has further extended the state of national emergency which was originally declared at 12:21pm on Wednesday, 25 March 2020. The state of national emergency, declared under section 66 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 was extended pursuant to section 71 at 9:27am on Tuesday,…

AML/CFT supervisors working on solutions to COVID-19-related problems

The Department of Internal Affairs, the AML/CFT supervisor for lawyers, says it is working with its AML/CFT system partners and preparing to respond to sector concerns regarding their ability to meet some AML/CFT Act obligations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It says two areas of immediate concern relate to…

Customs advises on moving non-essential goods blocking essential goods

The New Zealand Customs Services says companies that have non-essential goods blocking movement of essential goods may apply for permission to move those goods from the port to their CCA for storage. However, Customs says they are not authorised to deliver those non-essential goods to their customers. It says the use of…

Dame Silvia’s Inquiry report into EQC released

The report of the Public Inquiry into the Earthquake Commission (EQC) has recommended that claimants should be dealt with respectfully, fairly and professionally and with a sensitivity to the post-disaster pressures they might be facing. “EQC’s operational practices must put the needs of claimants first and at the centre of what…

Lawyers in lockdown … Pt 1

We asked lawyers around the country how they are getting on during the lockdown: what are they doing to cope with the lack of office working and dealing with technology at home. Here are the first two lawyers. Maree Baker-Galloway, partner, Anderson Lloyd, QueenstownHow are you getting round the lack of…

BSA issues guidance on terrorism and extremism reporting

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has released a guidance note for broadcasters when reporting on terrorism, violent extremism and crisis events. The guidance follows the issue of decisions by the BSA last year on broadcast coverage of the Christchurch mosque attacks. When it released its decisions last year, the Authority acknowledged the…

Over 90% of One Home to Live In applications approved

The Overseas Investment Office says that during the first quarter of 2020 it approved 72 applications for people with residency visas to buy homes to live in. The One Home to Live In pathway came in October 2018 with changes to the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to put restrictions on overseas…