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Emissions Units Bill (Consistent) [2008] NZBORARp 29 (21 July 2008)

Last Updated: 17 March 2020

21 July 2008

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

LEGAL ADVICE

CONSISTENCY WITH THE NEW ZEALAND BILL OF RIGHTS ACT 1990: EMISSIONS UNITS BILL

1. We have considered whether the Emissions Units Bill (the ‘Bill’) (PCO

13237/2.0) is consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (the ‘Bill of Rights Act’). We understand that the Bill will be considered by the Cabinet LEG committee on 31 July 2008.

2. The Bill seeks to clarify the regulatory treatment of emissions units for market operators and market participants to support the trading of emissions units and the development of the market for emissions units.

3. The amendments are technical amendments that will clarify how emissions units will be traded when traded within New Zealand’s existing regulatory environment. The Bill seeks to amend the:

• Personal Property Securities Act 1999, to include emissions units in the definition of investment security, which enables emissions units to be traded easily on an exchange;

• Securities Act 1978, to explicitly exclude emissions units from the definition of security, which ensures that emissions units do not need to meet the requirements of the regulatory regime for securities trading; and

• Securities Markets Act 1988, to include emissions units in the definition of commodity, which provides for futures contracts in emissions units.

4. We have concluded that the Bill does not appear to be inconsistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed by the Bill of Rights Act.

Michael Petherick

Manager, Ministerial Advice

Office of Legal Counsel

Stuart Beresford
Policy Manager, Bill of Rights/Human Rights
Public Law Group

In addition to the general disclaimer for all documents on this website, please note the following: This advice was prepared to assist the Attorney-General to determine whether a report should be made to Parliament under s 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 in relation to the Emissions Units Bill. It should not be used or acted upon for any other purpose. The advice does no more than assess whether the Bill complies with the minimum guarantees contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The release of this advice should not be taken to indicate that the Attorney-General agrees with all aspects of it, nor does its release constitute a general waiver of legal professional privilege in respect of this or any other matter. Whilst care has been taken to ensure that this document is an accurate reproduction of the advice provided to the Attorney-General, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Crown Law Office accepts any liability for any errors or omissions.