News

The New Zealand employment dispute resolution system has drifted far from its original intent. What was designed to be an informal and relationship-centred process has become an adversarial, slow, and cost-prohibitive environment that often penalises efficiency and rewards speculative litigation.

The High Court upheld a consenting panel’s decision to decline resource consent for a large-scale housing development, based on special character zoning rules.

Special Counsel Marcus Ganley joined RNZ's Afternoons to discuss new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill is the most significant reform to New Zealand's health and safety regulatory framework since the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (“the Act”) came into force.

The High Court dismissed a lawyer’s challenge of a Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal decision, to suspend him from practice for two months for refusal to provide information.

The Local Government (Management of Local Authorities) Amendment Bill is a Members Bill under the name of Stuart Smith MP, introduced to Parliament on 21 May 2026. The Bill seeks to clarify the allocation of decision-making power within local authorities under the Local Government Act 2002.

The High Court reinstated Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as a member of Te Pāti Māori (“TPM”), finding she had been unlawfully expelled from TPM. The Court found that the meetings used to suspend, then expel, Kapa-Kingi from TPM were not properly held under TPM’s Constitution (“Constitution”) and breached TPM’s tikanga.

Professions need an internal diversity of perspectives for healthy debate and professional growth. For lawyers this is vital for the rule of law itself; if lawyers are condemned for representing clients with unpopular views, access to justice is placed at risk.

In a recent episode of the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union's Taxpayer Talk podcast, Franks Ogilvie Director Stephen Franks and Senior Solicitor Aly Miller joined the conversation on a critical but underappreciated issue: the right of elected local government representatives to access the information they need to do their jobs.