Legislation Notes
Drinking Water Bill Coming
The Ministry of Health is drafting a Health (Drinking water) Amendment Bill to augment those sections of the Health Act which deal with drinking water. It will be introduced to Parliament as soon as possible and follows hard on the heels of a major overhaul of drinking water standards by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for the Environment (see October 2005 "Rural Bulletin" for more information).
In other drinking water developments, the Ministry of Health has set up an email-based service (dwap@moh.govt.nz) to answer specific queries on the Drinking-Water Assistance Programme (announced in the Budget with a kitty of $137 million) and other drinking-water initiatives. Information on the assistance programme can be found at http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/238fd5fb4fd051844c256669006aed57/1cee215c8cf007b6cc256ffd007147cc?OpenDocument.
There is also a web page - http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/by+unid/5AF58E090CF4098BCC25699600754798?Open - with resources to assist drinking-water suppliers in preparing Public Health Risk Management Plans for their supply.
The Ministry of Health has also released for feedback the second and final part of a national drinking water quality standard. The draft paper, "Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Management for NZ" (which stipulates the quality of drinking water specifically), complements a related consultation paper (Proposed National Environmental Standard for Human Drinking-water Sources) released recently by the Ministry for the Environment, which establishes quality controls over the sources of drinking water (see October 2005 "Rural Bulletin" for more details). The guidelines will come into effect on 1 January, pending any changes for "further clarity or explanation" which might arise before then.
The guidelines for drinking water, together with a range of associated information, can be |
Geographic Board Act Overhauled
Drafting instructions for the Parliamentary Council Office are being prepared by Land Information NZ (LINZ) to overhaul the NZ Geographic Board Act 1946. LINZ says that although the Act has generally stood the test of time, it needs updating to reflect changes which affect its jurisdictional, consultative and administrative provisions.
The objectives of the new legislation will be to:
- clarify the jurisdiction of the NZ Geographic Board;
- revise procedures for public participation in the place naming process;
- consider the composition and membership of the Board;
- ensure the provisions of the Act align more clearly with the Treaty of Waitangi; and
- modernise the Act's administrative and procedural provisions.
In a separate exercise, LINZ is discussing with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), Local Government NZ (LGNZ) and the Ministry of Transport, the possibility of local authorities being given the authority to designate suburban areas with suburban names. If the idea proceeds, separate legislation will be needed and would include a requirement for the Geographic Board to approve the name proposed by the local authority.
Information about the Act's review can be found at: http://www.linz.govt.nz/rcs/linz/pub/web/root/core/Placenames/nzgbactreview/index.jsp |
Revocation of Wills
The legal constraints on the revocation of wills is to be updated to take into account the passing in March of the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill. Following instructions from the government, the Law Commission has now published the terms of reference to:
- remove statutory references to relationships that discriminate on the grounds of marital status; and
- undertake further work on succession law, in particular the revocation rules on marriage contained in the Wills Act.
The Commission is planning to publish a study paper and the options for reform (both of which will be issued first for public consultation) by June next year.
The terms of reference can be downloaded from: http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/UploadFiles/Publications/Publication_125_321_TOR%20ROW/ |
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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