Law Society welcomes acknowledgement of concerns over lawyer wellbeing

The President of the New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa, Frazer Barton has welcomed a letter highlighting concerns over the wellbeing of lawyers across the country. 

Welcome relief for duty lawyers

The New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa is delighted that duty lawyers across New Zealand are set to receive a 17 per cent pay rise, following an announcement by the Legal Aid Services Commissioner this week.

Law Society seeks improvements to Taxation Principles Reporting Bill

The Law Society appeared before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on 15 June to present its submission on the Taxation Principles Reporting Bill. Neil Russ, Convenor of the Tax Law Committee, outlined several significant issues with the Bill, including the failure to follow the Generic Tax Policy Process (GTPP)…

Access to justice and Budget 2023

Budget 2023 released last week included mention of funding for the legal aid system. These announcements reflect the Budget 2022 increase of $148.741 million across four years: Budget 2023 has not made any further investment in remuneration for legal aid providers. Changes to eligibility and repayment settings are those announced…

Amendments to Returning Offenders legislation passed under urgency despite inconsistency with human rights

Parliament has urgently passed a new Bill today which means ‘501 deportees’ will face parole-like conditions even if they offended before November 2015, despite the Attorney General confirming aspects of the proposed amendments are inconsistent with fundamental human rights.

Law Society recommends providing for post-legislative scrutiny processes in Parliament’s rules

The New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has recommended amending the Standing Orders to provide for processes which empower Parliament to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of legislation.