“The Government wouldn’t be in court today defending its oil and gas ban if it had followed ACT’s Regulatory Constitution,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“This Government has been a shocker when it comes to defining the problem it wants to solve and choosing the right solution. The rushed firearm laws, plastic bag bans, and oil and gas exploration bans were all done without asking ‘what problem are we trying to solve'.

“Even Kiwibuild, at its heart, was a failure of problem definition. If the Government realised section prices were the problem, it might have done something about that instead of trying to build affordable homes on $700,000 sections.

“Good law-making requires the Government to properly define the problem it is trying to solve. It must show that if it were not to act that harm would be done. It must then show that the benefits of the proposed law would outweigh the costs. It must also consult with affected parties.

“In the case of banning oil and gas exploration, the Government ignored those principles.

“The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment found that there is no environmental benefit to banning oil and gas exploration if Indonesian coal will be imported instead.

“Not only did this not benefit the environment, it’s meant less investment in New Zealand.

“ACT is the only party in Parliament that has a policy to require good law-making. Our regulatory constitution will:

• Require Parliament and government departments to follow principles of good law-making

• Empower citizens to challenge bad laws in court with recourse to a Regulatory Constitution

“This also would have applied to the rushed through firearms legislation, that has taken away the rights of law-abiding New Zealanders and done nothing to improve the safety of New Zealanders.

“ACT is the only party with a Regulatory Constitution that will require politicians to publicly acknowledge who loses and by how much. This will enable more informed public debate about legislation, and the costs and benefits of various options, before it is passed.”

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