law
31 Mar 2020

State of Emergency extended - legal experts call for clarity

From Midday Report, 12:15 pm on 31 March 2020

The Prime Minister is expected to extend New Zealand's state of emergency for a further seven days this afternoon.

The hasty announcement of the state of emergency last week, and enactment of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management and Epidemic Preparedness Acts as a result, has raised concerns about the discretionary power authorities can use during these uncertain times.

And some legal experts are calling for clearer rules of how these powers should be applied.

Māni Dunlop speaks to a specialist in public and constitutional law, Associate Professor Dean Knight.