Thursday, 26 February 2026
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD hour
* This interactive online recording includes questions and quizzes requiring critical thinking about the topics, so you have no annual limits to the number of points/hours you can claim with this format of learning. Please verify with your CPD rules
NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990: Influence on Statutory Meaning
- How NZBORA influences statutory meaning
- Examples of how Courts interpret legislation NZBORA consistently
- Implications for statutory interpretation legal advice and litigation
Presented by Matthew Smith KC, Thorndon Chambers
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how the NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990 influences statutory meaning and judicial interpretation
- Apply rights-consistent interpretation principles in legal advice and litigation contexts
Chair
Matt McKillop, Barrister, Masons Lane Chambers
Presenters
Matt McKillop, Barrister, Masons Lane Chambers
Matt is a barrister at Masons Lane Chambers in Wellington with a broad public law practice. He has appeared as lead and junior counsel in courts at every level, from the Supreme Court to the Human Rights Review Tribunal, litigating a wide range of issues from human rights and discrimination law to judicial review, criminal appeals, and civil claims. He acts both for and against a range of Crown and public sector clients. Matt has a particular interest in mental health and disability, and its intersection with criminal law and legal capacity. Matt was previously a lawyer in the Constitutional and Human Rights team at Crown Law for nine years.
Matthew Smith KC, Thorndon Chambers
Matthew has a broad public and commercial law practice, encompassing regulatory, Māori, human rights, and environmental law, and with a special expertise in judicial review and the use of public law tools to achieve meaningful outcomes for clients. He works across the entire range of public law and has acted for public sector bodies (including Crown entities and commissions of inquiry), individuals, entities of many kinds (including companies, incorporated societies, trusts and Māori incorporations), industry groups, and NGOs. Matthew has appeared in all the higher courts, and in numerous specialist courts and tribunals, including the Waitangi Tribunal and the Māori Land Court. His non-litigation work tends to involve the provision of legal and strategic advice and support in a range of settings, including public inquiries, regulatory investigations, consultation processes, and Parliamentary/law reform processes. Matthew is the sole author of the New Zealand Judicial Review Handbook – a comprehensive text on judicial review in New Zealand that is now in its second edition.
