Each year, a team of Communications volunteers work together to produce a bill submission for consideration by the Select Committee. Each team member is delegated a particular area of research within the bill in order to build a detailed image of how the bill might impact New Zealanders if it is passed into legislation. Volunteers may also have the opportunity to make an oral submission to the Committee, as we were invited to do so in 2020.

2021 - Submission on the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill

This Bill would outlaw conversion practices, being a practice performed with the intention of changing or suppress a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. In particular, this submission focused on addressing concerns around freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and parental exemptions.

Team members: Samantha Putt, Alexander Campbell, Hannah Ko, Hannah Talbot, Kate MacKay, Max Pendleton, Tulsi Khanna, Bronwyn Wilde and Sam Meyerhoff.

Submission: Conversion Practices Prohibition Bill Submission

2021 - Submission on the Contraception, STERILISATION, and abortion (safe areas) amendment Bill

This Bill would create safe areas of up to 150 metres around abortion facilities to protect females who are accessing abortion services. It would make it a criminal offence to intimidate, obstruct, visually record, interfere or communicate with these individuals in a way that could reasonably cause them emotional distress. This submission is an important continuation of EJP’s previous submission on the Abortion Legislation Bill in 2019 (see below).

Team members: Samantha Putt, Sarah Shanahan, Andrew O’Malley Shand, Renee Wells, Alexander Campbell, Kate MacKay, Max Pendleton, Tulsi Khanna, Bronwyn Wilde and Sam Meyerhoff.

Submission: Abortion Safe Areas Bill Submission

2020 - Inquiry into the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act

The rushed passing of this Act under extreme urgency meant it did not pass through a select committee stage. However, following public outcry, it was referred back to the Finance and Expenditure Committee retrospectively. The Act grants extensive emergency powers to the executive to contain the spread of the virus, including warrant-less entry of premises which infringe on a number of rights under the NZBORA.

Team members: Sophie Bijl-Brown, Tulsi Khanna, Andrew O’Malley Shand, Henry Parker, Ling Yee Wong and Rachel Simpson, Anuja Mitra, Bronwyn Wilde and Lauren White (Head Editor).

Submission: COVID-19 Public Health Response Act Submission

2020 - Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill

This Bill would reverse the 2010 prisoner voting disqualification and allow prisoners serving sentences of less than three years to enrol to vote once more. Among other things, it also allows for certain prisoners to enter the ‘unpublished’ roll if there is a risk to their safety or that of their family.

Team members: Kate MacKay, Hannah Jang, Hannah Ko, Nithya Narayanan, Sam Meyerhoff, Ling Yee Wong, Daniel Meech, Max Pendleton, Anuja Mitra, Bronwyn Wilde and Lauren White (Head Editor).

Submission: Prisoner Voting Rights Submission

2019 - Abortion legISlation bill

This omnibus bill amends the law to decriminalise abortion, better align the regulation of abortion services with other health services, and modernise the legal framework for abortion currently set out in the Crimes Act 1961 and the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977.

Team members: Fiona Wu, Kate MacDonald, Lianne Voon, Sam Meyerhoff, Harry Cui, Nithya Narayanan and Lauren White (Head Editor).

Submission: Abortion Legislation Bill Submission

2018 - Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP Treaty)

This treaty amends the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) after the withdrawal of the United States of America. As an incredibly large and complex free trade agreement, our volunteers worked hard to analyse the treaty from several perspectives, including: intellectual property, environment, public health, indigenous rights and labour concerns.

Team Members: Akhil Parashar, Ben Bowley-Drinnan, Olivia Fisher, Patricia Lu, James Adams, Valeeria Slaiman, Emily Davidson, Haya Khan, Claudia Russell and Hannah Yang (Head Editor).

Submission: CPTPP Bill Submission

2017 - Domestic Violence Victim's Protection Bill

This Bill sought to enhance legal protections for victims of domestic violence by offering victims the ability to request a variation of their working arrangements, by replacing the definition of ‘hazard’ to ensure employers have policies on how to manage workers suffering because of domestic violence, and by providing victims of domestic abuse a minimum entitlement to 10 days paid leave

Team members: Claudia Russell, Hannah Yang, Jasper Lau, Haya Khan, Hart Reynolds, Olivia Folu, Rebecca Hallas, Daniel Gambitsis and Meg Williams.

Submission: DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE-BILL-FINAL-DRAFT