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Canterbury Property Boundaries and Related Matters Bill (Consistent) [2015] NZBORARp 50 (7 October 2015)

Last Updated: 3 March 2019

Canterbury Property Boundaries and Related Matters Bill

7 October 2015

Hon Christopher Finlayson QC, Attorney-General

Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Canterbury Property Boundaries and Related Matters Bill

Purpose

1. We have considered whether the Canterbury Property Boundaries and Related Matters Bill (the ‘Bill’) is consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (the ‘Bill of Rights Act’).
   
2. We have not yet received a final version of the Bill. This advice has been prepared with the latest version of the Bill (PCO 19310/7.0) and on the understanding that the Bill may be subject to minor amendments before it is submitted to the Cabinet Legislation Committee. We will provide you with further advice if the final version of the Bill includes amendments that affect the conclusions in this advice.
   

The Bill

3. The purpose of the Bill is to clarify the law relating to locating legal boundaries on land affected by movement resulting from the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquake sequences. In the worst affected areas, it is difficult for surveyors to reconcile physical evidence of boundaries, all of which have moved with the land movement, with the generally accepted survey principle that legal property boundaries are fixed in space except in the case of gradual and imperceptible water boundary movement.
   
4. The Bill provides that boundaries of land in greater Christchurch have moved with land movement caused by the earthquakes. The Bill also provides for the Surveyor-General to issue guidelines to help surveyors understand the new rules, and guarantees registered

landowners’ titles.

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

Jeff Orr

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 Canterbury Property Boundaries and Related Matters 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.