Earlier this year, Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced the Government’s Whenua Māori Programme to address the complex and challenging regulatory environment that Māori freehold landowners deal with. The Government has committed $56.1 million over four years to address this.

A recent costs judgment in the High Court undertook an analysis of Rule 14.7(e) of the High Court Rules 2016 which allows the Court to refuse to make an order for costs if the matter is not the public interest. Justice Whata held that this rule does not apply where a dispute is based primarily upon competing claims by two iwi to the same land.

Further to our earlier pānui in March, a raft of further changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 come into effect from 6 May 2019.

If you do not have Enduring Powers of Attorney in place and you lose your mental capacity, someone would need to make an application under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 to the Family Court in order to make certain decisions for you. This article outlines three of the most common applications that are required when a person loses their capacity without Enduring Powers of Attorney in place.

As of 1 April 2019 employers need to be aware of several changes to minimum employment standards.

The recent Enterprise Miramar Peninsula Incorporated v Wellington City Council [2018] NZCA 541 provides important commentary on how Councils should approach Qualifying Development Resource Consent applications – that is, on how section 34 of the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 should be interpreted - and on bias in local authority decisions.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the allocation of $100 million from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund to support Māori economic development. The allocation is intended to help build prosperity for Māori and to help unlock the economic potential of Māori in the regions.

This article discusses the Residential Tenancies (Prohibiting Letting Fees) Amendment Act 2018 where the charging of letting fees to tenants is now deemed an "unlawful act", and landlords now have to meet these costs.

A Testamentary Promise is a promise made by one person (“Person A”) to another (“Person B”) in that Person B will receive compensation for providing services to Person A. There are four requirements to prove a Testamentary Promise exists and the Court will consider a number of factors.

Recent cases have outlined important considerations regarding the requirements necessary to prove a Will to be invalid. There is some confusion around the grounds upon which a Will can be challenged, leading to unnecessary costs in questioning the validity of a Will.

New Zealand has passed a law called the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. The purpose of the law reflects New Zealand’s commitment to the international initiative to counter the impact that criminal activity has on people and economies within the global community.

This article discusses the recent decision by the Independent Charities Registration Board that Greenpeace does not qualify for charitable status provides further guidance for charities regarding political purposes, ancillary purposes, and illegal purposes.

Online wills or do it yourself will kits seem to be a popular new trend. This article discusses the recent case of Mills v Laboyrie [2018] NZHC 1368 where the question before the High Court was whether or not a partially completed will from a will kit satisfied section 14 of the Wills Act 2007.

Baker v Hodder [2018] NZSC 78 deals with important company law issues, and at the highest level. In a sadly familiar set of facts, this case concerned a farming business run on land owned by a family company which was unsuccessful and ultimately became insolvent, forcing the sale of the farm. It is worth noting as it is the first decision by the Supreme Court on the ‘prejudiced shareholders provision’, contained in section 174 of the Companies Act.

In most circumstances, parties entering into a contract with a company will be entitled to assume that the company has complied with all its internal procedures to authorise entry into the contract. Section 18 of the Companies Act 1993 was enacted for this very purpose. However, the recent Court of Appeal case of Bishop Warden Property Holdings Limited v Autumn Tree Limited illustrates that this is not always the case, and this assumption is subject to a few notable exceptions.