Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill

Members, we come now to our final debate, which is the debate on clauses 1 and 2, the debate on the title and commencement.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one question—and probably reasonably easily expressed—around the time frame, commencement date. I wonder if the Minister gave any thought to having the Act come into effect on 1 January, given that so much of electoral law is based around the idea of an election year being a key concept and a key marker for various obligations; as opposed to 31 March 2023.

I mean, it might be that that time is needed for the systems of the Electoral Commission to come into effect or for the information campaign to gear up and so on. So not suggesting that the date that’s set down isn’t appropriate, but just to get a feel for the reason, particularly, that that was chosen, as distinct from marking 1 January, which of course, in the case of 2023, almost certainly will mark the start of an election year.

Yes, we did turn our mind to that provision. It would have been ideal if we could have kicked off all of the necessary forms from 1 January; however, just to enable the system to have the time it needs to adjust and adapt, it was considered it was appropriate to come in on the commencement date, which is 31 March, 2023.

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2 agreed to.

Bill to be reported with amendment.