Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill

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Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill
New Zealand Parliament[1]
CitationTerm of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill (NZ).
Territorial extentNew Zealand
Legislative history
Introduced byPaul Goldsmith[1]
Committee responsibleJustice Select Committee[1]
First reading5 March 2025[1]
Voting summary
  • 117 voted for
  • 6 voted against
Status: Pending — before

The Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill, also known as the 4-year Term Bill is a government bill in the New Zealand Parliament proposing that future Parliaments can meet for up to four years if certain conditions are met.

Background

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New Zealand has a unicameral legislature (the New Zealand House of Representatives) usually comprising 120 members who are elected in general elections every three years. The term of Parliament is set under section 17 of the Constitution Act 1986 as being no longer than three years. The three-year term is uncommon internationally for a lower house. Previous attempts to extend the term of Parliament to four years have been unsuccessful, with referendums proposing a longer term being defeated in 1967 and 1990. Section 17 is considered "entrenched legislation" and can only be amended if 75 per cent of the House agrees or if a simple majority of voters agree in a nationwide referendum.[2]

In the 52nd New Zealand Parliament, ACT New Zealand leader David Seymour proposed a private member's bill that would enable Parliament to meet for four years if Opposition parties, rather than Government parties as is convention, controlled the select committees of the House of Representatives.[3] When ACT formed a coalition government with the National Party and New Zealand First Party, the three parties agreed to support Seymour's member's bill as far as select committee.[4]

Legislation

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The Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill amends the Constitution Act 1986 and the Electoral Act 1993. The bill is designed so it only comes into force if a majority of voters support it in a referendum on the question: "Do you support the Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Act 2025 coming into force?" The bill, once enacted, will self-repeal if the referendum is lost or not held by 31 October 2031.

The amendments to the Constitution Act allow the term of Parliament to be extended from three years to four years by Proclamation of the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Proclamation can only be issued if, within three months of the new Parliament convening, the House has agreed by simple majority that the proportionality requirement is satisfied. The proportionality requirement is that only members who are not part of the Executive (ministers and parliamentary under-secretaries) are counted when proportionally determining membership of select committees. The effect is that Opposition members would generally hold majorities on committees.

The amendments to the Electoral Act allow for elections to be held at the conclusion of a four-year term and entrench the amendments to the Constitution Act.

Legislative history

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First reading

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The bill was introduced on 27 February 2025 in the name of Paul Goldsmith, the Minister of Justice. It was read a first time on 5 March 2025. It received support from all parties, except Te Pāti Māori. Government documents were released prior to the first reading showing that officials had reservations about the proposal for a variable length term of Parliament, describing it as "much worse than the status quo" and "constitutionally and practically problematic."[5]

Votes at first reading (5 March 2025)[6]
Party Voted for Voted against
National 49 0
Labour 34 0
Green 15 0
ACT 11 0
NZ First 8 0
Te Pāti Māori 0 6
Totals 117 6

Select committee

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On 25 August 2025, the Parliamentary select committee released its report on the proposed four-year term legislation. The committee recommended moving ahead with a four-year term following a referendum but rejected ACT's proposal for an optional four-year team based on the Government handing over control of select committees to opposition parties. In the event that arrangement was not met, Parliament would have reverted to a three-year term. ACT was the only party to support this arrangement in its minority view. The select committee also unanimously adopted a report establishing the legislative framework for holding a referendum on extending the parliamentary term from three to four years.[7]

Responses

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On 14 February 2025, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), the representative body for local government bodies in New Zealand, voiced support for extending both the parliamentary and local government terms from three to four years. LGNZ's President and Mayor of Selwyn Sam Broughton however disagreed with ACT's proposal to make the four-year parliamentary term optional, saying that such an arrangement could cause double-election years. Broughton also urged the central government to pass legislation extending the local government term from three to four years, saying that it could serve as "a test case to show New Zealanders that we could get better outcomes at cheaper costs."[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill". New Zealand Parliament. 5 March 2025. Archived from the original on 23 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Govt announces four-year parliamentary term legislation to be introduced". 1News. 26 February 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Act proposes four year Government term in Members Bill". Stuff. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  4. ^ Moir, Jo (27 February 2025). "Four-year parliamentary term legislation to be introduced, would go to referendum". RNZ. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  5. ^ Cheng, Derek (3 March 2025). "'Constitutionally and practically problematic': Officials on Govt's bill for a four-year term". NZ Herald. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Voting — Te Pāti Māori Votes—Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 780. New Zealand Parliament: House of Representatives. 5 March 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Palmer, Russell (25 August 2025). "ACT pushes back against recommended changes to four-year-term proposal". RNZ. Archived from the original on 27 August 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  8. ^ Palmer, Russell (14 February 2025). "Four-year term: LGNZ warns against elections overlap". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
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