See the link in the article for the open letter, signed by a bunch of us. www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...

Something announced a little while ago but was just re-raised in today's Law Commission's newsletter > The Minister of Justice has asked the Law Commission to undertake a review of legal issues related to the use of automated decision-making by government. www.lawcom.govt.nz/about-us/new...

Delighted etc that this collection on extrajudicial communication has arrived off the ships from the printing house abroad. My chapter dips into extrajudicial scholarship, especially in our small-ish democracy here in Aotearoa New Zealand. 🤓

Remembering Sir Ken Keith, with his passing last week, especially his vast contribution to law within Aotearoa New Zealand and life as part of our law school whānau. I return to comments on his book — "Without fear or favour" — I had the privilege of sharing at a faculty seminar last year.

Remembering Sir Ken Keith, with his passing last week, especially his vast contribution to law within Aotearoa New Zealand and life as part of our law school whānau. I return to comments on his book — "Without fear or favour" — I had the privilege of sharing at a faculty seminar last year.

👏🏼 The House: The constitutional shift you may have missed this week www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

1 more exciting work thing; from mid July to the end of August, I'm teaching a 6 week, 1 evening a week grad course on the theory, law, & practice of reason-giving in govt. Can be taken standalone or part of a certificate, diploma, or LLM. Good for lawyers in or around govt or senior policy folks.

The #NZ Government just announced it will bar tort claims arising from climate change damage, for both current & future cases. That's not just bad climate policy. It's a rule-of-law problem. New piece w/ Graeme Austin in @aunz.theconversation.com: theconversation.com/changing-cli... #ClimateLaw

Sigh. “Consistency” is a weasel word as a mask for dilution etc, esp as take into account language is (relevant ingredient, not weight) procedural duty only. Coherence would be better lodestar for good faith review, recognising that te Tiriti/the Treaty may speak differently in different contexts.

New post: Does the Prime Minister have to be an MP? publiclawforeveryone.com/2026/05/14/d...

Wise comments from my colleagues — a wafer thin purported justification makes the slated bar on tort claims a worrying breach of the rule of law and democratic traditions etc. theconversation.com/changing-cli...

Very sad to hear of Sir Ken's passing. Such a massive contribution to all aspects of law here in Aotearoa New Zealand -- and one of our whānau here at the law school. 🥺

#rantsandreckons 🤓 newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/12/a...

This risk has always existed because Parliament can do what it wants. But the risk has always existed in the same way that there has always been a risk that you'll be killed by a homicidal clown. It's just that now like four people you know have died to homicidal clowns in the last two years.

All litigation carries risk. The risk that Parliament might legislate to end your litigation.

#rantsandreckons 🤓 newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/12/a...

👀

My paper “Bureaucracy and Distrust: the Civil Service in the Constitution” has been published in Current Legal Problems. It looks at the UK civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. It's open access. currentlegalproblems.org/article/bure...

Oral submissions on the Policing Amendment Bill today. Submitter after submitter, including the Privacy Commissioner, the Law Society, the Privacy Foundation, and us, stating that the Policing Amendment Bill isn't salvageable and needs to be sent back for a rewrite.

🙌🏼

A wild and windy day in the capital — and a perfect day for reading and interrogating some public law scholarship in community at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social. #laws522 #publiclaw 🤓

My note on the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s thematic report proposing a legislative regime regulating protest has been published: “Policing protests: proposed reform of the law governing public protests in Aotearoa New Zealand” [2026] Public Law 198. 🤓 (Reach out if you are interested.)

My note on the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s thematic report proposing a legislative regime regulating protest has been published: “Policing protests: proposed reform of the law governing public protests in Aotearoa New Zealand” [2026] Public Law 198. 🤓 (Reach out if you are interested.)

+1 www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-a...

Hmmm. Has the Media Council (formerly Press Council) been subject to judicial review? I presume it’s got the requisite publicness aka Datafin — and more so, if the BSA is abolished? 🤔

Ministers need to be careful about weighing in on matters that are within the constabulary independence of the Police etc. 👀

Probably true. "What is likely to happen, I expect, is that a non-member broadcaster will do something terrible and it will be a scandal that there’s no standards regime and the government will have to reinvent one." www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3610...

Quite. #democraticbacksliding www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

🧵My take here is that the coalition government has decided to abolish the BSA because it has advice that the authority's assertion that the Broadcasting Act gives it jurisdiction over online broadcasting is well-founded and would prevail in a court. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Really? sigh

🤦‍♂️

FWIW, I'm not opposed to reform -- as long as it doesn't sacrifice the raison d'être of local democracy. Thus, imv, we need both bigger *and* smaller local government, guided by principle of subsidiarity etc (perhaps, mix of unitary councils with local boards). www.beehive.govt.nz/release/coun...

Hmmm… www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Good luck to all my LAWS213 Public Law students sitting their first terms test tonight. #usetheforceetc 🤓

#cmonetc 🖤💛

Especial thanks to @aileenmcharg.bsky.social and @rogermasterman.bsky.social for steering the ship through some choppy waters and to those contributors who are on here: @katrinanavickas.bsky.social @crwerren.bsky.social @lawofprotest.bsky.social @drdeanknight.bsky.social

I have curated this year's @publiclaw.bsky.social Special Analysis section "The Public Order Act 1986 at Forty", with six excellent contributions which together, I/we hope, offer an insight into the rich tapestry of contemporary protest law and policing in the UK, through that historical lens.

Hmmm…. bills.parliament.nz/v/4/bb27e086...

A 6 and a bit week teaching block in LAWS213 Public Law at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social just finished. Pleased to help navigate this excellent bunch of students through their training to be constitutional trainspotters… 🤓

Luxon’s attempt to refocus the media is constitutionally misplaced. Confidence is the lifeblood of government. And the media have a legitimate interest in interrogating changing dynamics in confidence.

Press conf: Was a vote at his motion; he won. Blames media first everything, walks off.

🦁☔️

All teaching and learning activities are cancelled and classes will be rescheduled. For further advice, please stay up to date at Wellington Region Emergency Management Office.

Our campuses will be reopening at 8 am on Wednesday, but we will keep you informed through our website & social channels should this information change. The Hub at Kelburn is open if you can't make it home, otherwise please check WREMO updates for emergency community hubs that have been activated.

The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. Due to the risk to life and probable travel disruptions, all campuses are closing. Please prioritise your safety and head home now if you can.

👀

This heavy use of urgency — shortcuts in the parliamentary process — is cheating democracy. And ministers know it too.

No government since at least 1987 has passed 30 or more laws without a select committee vet – until the coalition last month. newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/16/g...

Court of Appeal releases decision on the interpretation of the alterations covenant in a standard-form residential cross-lease, providing guidance on when consent to alterations will be unreasonably withheld. sen.nz/fpm9j4