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Land Transport and Road User Charges Legislation Amendment Bill (Consistent) (Section 21) [2013] NZBORARp 29 (5 July 2013)

Last Updated: 7 April 2019

Land Transport and Road User Charges Legislation Amendment Bill

5 July 2013 Attorney-General

Legal Advice

Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Land Transport and Road User Charges Legislation Amendment Bill

1. We have considered whether the Land Transport and Road User Charges Legislation Amendment Bill (PCO 17373/6.0) (‘the Bill’) is consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (‘the Bill of Rights Act’). We understand that the Bill will be considered by the Cabinet Legislative Committee at its meeting on Thursday 11 July 2013.
   

The Bill

2. The purpose of the Bill is to address a number of minor anomalies in the road user charges (RUC) system by amending the Road User Charges Act 2012 and the Land Transport Act 1998. The amendments include:
   
   • a new regulation making power to exempt vehicles that are not required to be registered from the RUC system;
   • allowing an additional fee to be charged for vehicles that are exempt from the RUC system;
   • enabling RUC collectors to create new, temporary RUC vehicle types and specified rates of road user charges for these types; and
   • creating a new offence for breaching a condition of an exemption under the Road User Charges Act.
     
3. For completeness we note the Bill also repeals and replaces the existing power in s 79 of the Road User Charges Act to issue search warrants for a place, vehicle or other thing where there are reasonable grounds to suspect an offence against the Act. The Bill essentially re- enacts the power but replaces references to provisions for applying for search warrants in the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 with the relevant provisions of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012.
   
4. We considered the new s 79 in light of s 21 of the Bill of Rights Act (unreasonable search and seizure). In light of previous advice provided prior to the introduction of the Search and Surveillance Bill in 2009 and the Road User Charges Bill in 2010, we are satisfied that this new section is consistent with s 21 of the Bill of Rights Act.

Conclusion

5. We have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.
   

Tania Warburton

Deputy Chief Legal Counsel Office of Legal Counsel

Disclaimer

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 Land Transport and Road User Charges Legislation Amendment 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.