Fixing the basics with a statutory spring clean

More than 150 outdated and obsolete laws are likely to be repealed as part of the Government’s statutory spring clean, Attorney-General Chris Bishop says.

The legislative cleanup is being run in stages led by the Parliamentary Counsel Office, alongside the Department of Internal Affairs for local Acts. To date, 152 outdated Acts have been identified for repeal.

“Part of being a responsible Government focused on fixing the basics is making sure New Zealand’s laws are fit for purpose,” Mr Bishop says.

“New Zealand’s statute book is full of fascinating relics from another era.

“Some are historically important. Some are genuinely bizarre. And quite a few are technically still in force despite almost nobody realising they still exist.

“We’ve got layer upon layer of legislation dating back more than 150 years – a legal lasagne, if you will.”

“Roughly half of all Acts still technically in force were passed between 1840 and the 1960s, and many are now obsolete. That creates confusion, unnecessary complexity, and occasionally some very odd situations.

“One example is the Wellington Milk-Supply Act 1919, which established a council-controlled licensing regime for milk vendors in the capital, and makes it illegal to sell skim milk within the city boundaries.

“Like the milk it regulates, this law has aged badly,” Mr Bishop says.

“The law is so old and obscure that Wellington City Council was almost dragged into court in 2021 after a lawyer, Tyrone Barugh, asked it to issue a milk licence under the Act. The Council and Mr Barugh avoided the matter going to court on the basis that they would work together to encourage the Government to repeal the Act for legal certainty.”

Other laws proposed for repeal include the Dunedin City Fish-markets and Empowering Act 1918, which allowed the Dunedin City Council to engage in the fish trade and also buy and sell sheep.

“Dunedin City Council no longer operates a fish market or trades livestock as far as I’m aware, so we can probably put this one out to pasture.

“Repealing legislation doesn’t erase history.

“These Acts remain permanently accessible on the New Zealand Legislation website as part of New Zealand’s legal and historical record.

“Many of them tell important stories about New Zealand’s past.

“An example is the Kaitangata Relief Fund Transfer Act 1892, which followed one of New Zealand’s earliest industrial disasters in 1879 when an explosion at the Kaitangata mine killed 34 miners. Public donations raised money for the widows and children of those killed, with the remaining surplus later transferred into a mining accident fund through the Act.”

Other Acts capture the history of long-standing New Zealand organisations and institutions.

The Caledonian Society Of Otago Incorporation Ordinance 1874 incorporated what became New Zealand’s oldest Scottish society, famous for organising Highland Games in Dunedin for more than 150 years before winding up in 2021.

The Joint Council of the Order of St John and the New Zealand Red Cross Society Incorporation Act 1938 formalised cooperation between the two organisations during an earlier era of New Zealand public service and emergency response.

“The point of this project isn’t to wipe away history,” Mr Bishop says.

“It’s about making New Zealand law easier to navigate and easier to understand, while preserving these stories for future generations.”

Note to editors:

Each Act identified for repeal is carefully reviewed and consulted on with relevant organisations, agencies, councils, and stakeholders. Public consultation on the 152 Acts identified for repeal is open now, and closes on 31 July 2026. Consultation on another round of Acts is planned for later in 2026.

Following consultation, public submissions will be reviewed to confirm the Acts are suitable for repeal. The Parliamentary Counsel Office will then draft a Bill to repeal the Acts. The Bill will be introduced to Parliament and go through the full parliamentary process including select committee scrutiny. This will provide the public another opportunity to make submissions.

More information, including how to make a submission, is available on the Legislation Repeals Project page.

List of Acts identified for repeal

Local Acts

1. Mairetahi Loan Conversion Act 1898
2. Whangarei Drill-shed Act 1892
3. Thames Deep Levels Enabling Act 1906
4. Tauranga East Coast and Hot Lakes District Railway Company (Limited) Empowering Act 1882
5. Tauranga County Empowering (Community Centres) Act 1965
6. Port Ahuriri-Westshore Road And Railway Act 1914
7. Norsewood Mechanics Institute Site Act 1878
8. Inglewood Technical-School Site Act 1909
9. Stratford County Act 1890
10. Stratford County Districts Adjustment Act 1891
11. New Plymouth Borough Council Empowering Act 1929
12. Waimate Agricultural Reserve Dairy School Act 1906
13. Makerua Drainage Board Loan Empowering Act 1927
14. Hamerton Pension Act 1891
15. Masterton Borough Council Staff Retiring Fund Act 1962
16. Masterton Public Park Management Act 1901
17. Masterton Trust Lands Act 1889
18. Canterbury Society of Arts Reserve Act 1889 Extension Act 1891
19. Christchurch City Empowering and Special Rates Consolidation Act 1941
20. Christchurch City Empowering Act (No 2) 1946
21. Christchurch City Reclamation and Empowering Act 1964
22. Lincoln Road Board Empowering Act 1908
23. Rawhiti Domain Act 1925
24. Sumner Borough Land Vesting Act 1929
25. Papanui Memorial Hall Enabling Act 1939
26. Balclutha Housing Act 1945
27. Balclutha Borough (Forestry) Empowering Act 1954
28. Oamaru Market Reserve Act 1878
29. Oamaru Municipal Exchange and Market Reserve Leasing Act 1911
30. Bruce County Empowering (Community Centres) Act 1970
31. Whangarei Borough Leasing Empowering Act 1922
32. Costley Training Institution Act 1885
33. Auckland Savings-Bank Educational Special Donation Act 1906
34. Paeroa Water-supply Transfer Validation Act 1922
35. Rangitaiki Drainage Board (Surplus Land Development and Sale) Empowering Act 1976
36. Napier Harbour Board and Napier Borough Enabling Act 1926
37. Hawera Technical School Site Exchange Act 1908
38. Palmerston North Library Empowering Act 1927 Wellington City Sanitation Loan Empowering Act 1892
39. Wellington City Sanitation Loan Empowering Act 1892
40. Wellington City Streets Act 1899
41. Wellington City Streets Act 1905
42. Wellington and Karori Sanitation and Water-supply Act 1912
43. Wellington City Betterment Act 1900
44. Wellington City Milk-supply Act 1919
45. Wellington City and Suburban Districts Ambulance Transport Service Act 1927
46. Wellington Free Ambulance Act 1941
47. Hutt Valley and Bays Metropolitan Milk Board Validation Act 1952
48. Petone Borough Empowering Act 1905
49. Wellington City Empowering Act 1889
50. Wellington City Empowering Act 1897
51. Wellington City Empowering Act 1925
52. Wellington City Empowering Act 1926
53. Wellington City Empowering Act 1928
54. Nelson Waterworks Extension Act 1935
55. Nelson City Empowering Act 1938
56. Timaru Mechanics’ Institute Act 1877
57. Timaru Harbour Board Loan and Empowering Act 1966
58. Ashburton Water-Supply (Lagmhor Creek) Act 1928
59. Dunedin Technical School Site Act 1911
60. Cromwell Athenaeum Reserves Act 1877
61. Ohai Railway Board Act 1932
62. Riverton Borough Empowering Act 1947
63. Hastings Borough Loan Empowering Act 1910
64. Hawke’s Bay County, Hastings Borough, and Havelock North Town Board Empowering Act 1929
65. Mount Cook Reserve Sale Act 1878
66. Wellington Boys’ Institute Act 1891
67. Wellington Boys’ Institute Act 1897
68. Masterton Public Park Extension Act 1905
69. Motueka Borough Council Library Act 1928
70. Waimate Public Library Act 1889
71. City of Dunedin Leasing Act 1886
72. City of Dunedin Leasing Powers Act 1884
73. Dunedin City (Suburban Water Charges) Empowering Act 1937
74. Dunedin City Fish-markets And Empowering Act 1918
75. Dunedin Garrison Hall Trustees Empowering Act 1893
76. Dunedin Southern Market Reserve Leasing Act 1882
77. Kaitangata Relief Fund Transfer Act 1892
78. Milton Athenaeum Endowment Act 1878
79. Otago Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools Board Empowering Act 1906
80. Port Chalmers Fire-Brigade Site Act 1886
81. Tapanui Hospital Reserve Vesting Act 1907
82. Waiwera School Glebe Sale Act 1877
83. Invercargill Cemetery Vesting Act 1905
84. Invercargill Waterworks Reserve Act 1887

Public Acts

1. Auckland Public Buildings Act 1876
2. Borough of Thames Tramways Act 1874
3. Borough of Wanganui Borrowing Act 1872
4. City of Dunedin Gasworks Act 1874
5. Napier Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute Incorporation Act 1876
6. Wellington City Reserves Act 1871
7. Campbelltown Athenaeum Act 1875
8. Admiralty House Act Repeal Act 1903
9. Annual Reporting and Audit Time Frames Extensions Legislation Act 2021
10. Methodist Church of Australasia in New Zealand Act 1902
11. Poverty Bay Land and Deeds Registration Districts Act 1896
12. Public Reserves Sale Act 1879
13. Queenstown Reserves Act 1905
14. Wellington and Manawatu Railway Purchase Act 1908
15. Wellington Corporate Land Act 1876

Private Acts

1. Otago and Southland Investment Company (Limited) Act 1864
2. Duck’s Nest Dam Act 1865
3. Lincoln Road Mill Dam Act 1865
4. Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company’s Additional Capital and Debentures Validation Act 1886
5. Stratford Electric Lighting Act 1898
6. Marine and Power Engineers’ Institute Incorporation Act 1925
7. London and New Zealand Bank, Limited Act 1928
8. Dominion Life Assurance Office of New Zealand, Limited, Act 1931
9. United Wheatgrowers Act 1936
10. Molyneux Gold Dredging Company (Claims Amalgamation) Act 1936
11. Automobile Association (Central) Act 1980
12. Dannevirke and District Soldiers’ Institute Dissolution Act 1983
13. William Robinson Estate Trusts Act 1893
14. Charles Joseph Jury Estate Empowering Act 1919
15. John Duncan McGruer Estate Act 1945
16. Wellington City Council (Te Aro Reclamation) Act 1879
17. Wellington Waterworks Act 1871
18. Taumarunui District Services’ Memorial Fund Act 1962
19. Whakatane Paper Mills, Limited, Water-supply Empowering Act 1936
20. Whakatane Board Mills Limited Water Supply Act 1961
21. Nelson Diocesan Trust Board Empowering Act 1937
22. Joint Council of the Order of St John and the New Zealand Red Cross Society Incorporation Act 1938
23. Georgetti Trust Estate Act 1915
24. Homewood Trust Act 1942
25. Ashburton County Council Empowering Act 1882
26. Auckland Hospital Board Trusts Empowering Act 1953
27. Bryant House Trust Board Enabling Act 1948
28. Mary Bryant Trust Board Enabling Act 1955
29. Bryant House Trust Board Enabling Act 1960
30. Bryant Nursery Trust Board Enabling Act 1968
31. Mary Bryant Trust Board Enabling Act 1975
32. Canterbury Jewish Cemetery Empowering Act 1943
33. Cawthron Institute Trust Board Empowering Act 1949
34. Otago Southland Flood Relief Committee Empowering Act 1980
35. Saint Mary’s Guild Trust Act 1956
36. Wills’s Road Hall Act 1935

Provincial Acts

1. Nelson Waterworks Act 1863
2. Cromwell Athenaeum Ordinance 1873
3. Caledonian Society Of Otago Incorporation Ordinance 1874
4. Invercargill Athenaeum Reserve Management Ordinance 1871
5. Invercargill Athenaeum Reserve Management Ordinance Amendment Ordinance 1872 (O)
6. Invercargill Athenaeum Reserves Management Ordinance 1873 (O)
7. Invercargill Athenaeum Reserve Management Ordinance 1875 (O)
8. Arrowtown Athenaeum Ordinance 1875 (O)
9. Education Reserves Ordinance 1864 (O)
10. Education Reserves Ordinance 1865 (O)
11. Picton Institute Act 1864 (M)
12. Public Buildings Act 1875 (A)
13. Reserve No 168 Ordinance 1875 (C)
14. Reserve No 424 Ordinance 1873 (C)
15. Riverton Athenaeum Ordinance 1873 (O)
16. Riverton Athenaeum Reserves Management Ordinance 1875 (O)
17. Roslyn Institute Ordinance 1874 (O)