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Dr Edward Willis

Public law and regulation

When should we engage in constitutional reform?

November 1, 2016

There has been a lot of discussion recently about constitutional reform in New Zealand, and how it should occur. But a lot of the conversations I have been involved in have actually raised a slightly different question – when should a country like New Zealand engage in...

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Three ways of thinking about constitutions

October 17, 2016

Geoffrey Palmer and Andrew Butler’s new book,             A Constitution for Aotearoa New Zealand, is excellent. I definitely don't agree with all of its contents, but it certainly provides food for thought. And wh...

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The case for retaining an unwritten constitution

September 12, 2016

If you’re a lawyer, you have probably heard about Geoffrey Palmer and Andrew Butler’s proposal that New Zealand adopt a written constitution. Lately it seems to have come through all of the legal industry magazines that (both electronically and in real life) fly across...

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Statutory recognition of the rule of law

August 24, 2016

This week marks a significant event in New Zealand’s unwritten constitution. It concerns the “rule of law” – an important constitutional concept – and how we recognise that concept. It also concerns the way the system operates, and the value of having an interested and...

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Constitutional symbolism - why a written constitution might be valuable

April 4, 2016

In my last blog I discussed why I’m sceptical about the idea that New Zealand should adopt a written constitution to make our constitutional arrangements more accessible. In this post I want to examine a related idea – that a written constitution carries some symbolic...

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Is a written constitution more accessible?

April 3, 2016

My previous blog post look at whether there is any need for New Zealand to adopt a written constitution. I received some pretty interesting feedback on it, some of which suggested that the question was a trivial one. In a way it is, but it’s the first question I get as...

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Does New Zealand need a written constitution?

April 2, 2016

The issue of whether New Zealand should adopt a written constitution is one that gets an airing regularly. Sir Geoffrey Palmer has raised the issue again with the media reporting that he considers it time to consider the issue afresh. Whether New Zealand should abandon...

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This blog sets out some of my views about great government in New Zealand by examining topical issues or matters that I think are important. It aims to offer informed commentary on the public law implications of the things you hear about on the news, or perhaps the things you should be hearing more about in the media.

 

It is important to recognise that this blog is intended to be non‑partisan. However, as it is usually the government of the day that makes decisions that impact on constitutional and political power, so there will naturally be a focus on critical analysis of government action.

CC Government & Politics

Croaking Cassandra

Economics New Zealand

Legal Beagle

Public Law for Everyone

Sparrowhawk/Kārearea

The Dim-Post

TVHE

UK Constitutional Law