The Growth in the Supply of Legislation in New Zealand

Authors

  • Derek Gill Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
  • Stevie Shipman Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
  • Karl Simpson Parliamentary Counsel Office

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v21i1.9710

Keywords:

policy accumulation, regulatory inflation, stock of regulation, New Zealand legislation

Abstract

The number of words used in the New Zealand statutes has grown steadily since 1908, but dramatically from the 1960s. The growthrate is similar under both Labour and National administrations and does not coincide with conventional narratives of deregulation and re-regulation. This growth in the New Zealand statute book was not the result of technical factors such as plain language drafting or greater use of secondary rules. Instead, the growth reflects substantive factors, with increases in the depth and the breadth of regulation. Regulatory inflation and policy accumulation are general trends not unique to New Zealand. More research is needed to underpin careful stewardship of the stock of regulation without resorting to arbitrary policy rules such as a ‘two for one’ policy.

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Author Biographies

Derek Gill, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Derek Gill has spent most of his career working on public management and public regulatory issues at the New Zealand Treasury, at the OECD, as a deputy at what is now called the Public Service Commission, and as a researcher at the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington. He is a board member at IPANZ and several other NGOs, and a research associate at NZIER and the School of Government. This article is prepared in his university capacity.

Stevie Shipman, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Stevie Shipman is a research analyst at the Parliamentary Counsel Office and is pursuing degrees in law and commerce at Victoria University of Wellington.

Karl Simpson, Parliamentary Counsel Office

Karl Simpson is deputy chief parliamentary counsel for system and stewardship at the Parliamentary Counsel Office. During his career, Karl has served as a policy adviser, lawyer and senior manager, and as a member of the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee – the common thread being legislative and regulatory design. His contribution, and that of the Parliamentary Counsel Office, to this article (along with the underlying dataset) reflect the office’s objective: promoting high-quality legislation that is easy to find, use and understand, and to that end, exercising stewardship over New Zealand’s legislation as a whole.

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Published

2025-02-17

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2025): Policy Quarterly

Section

Articles

License

Permission: In the interest of promoting debate and wider dissemination, the IGPS encourages use of all or part of the articles appearing in PQ, where there is no element of commercial gain. Appropriate acknowledgement of both author and source should be made in all cases. The IGPS retains copyright. Please direct requests for permission to reprint articles from this publication to igps@vuw.ac.nz.