29 March 2018

Hon David Parker, Attorney-General

LEGAL ADVICE
LPA 01 01 23

Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: Tariff (PACER Plus) Amendment Bill
1.	We have considered whether the Tariff (PACER Plus) Amendment Bill (‘the Bill’) is consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (‘the Bill of Rights Act’).
2.	The purpose of the Bill is to implement part of a free trade agreement, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus, done at Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on 14 June 2017 (‘the Agreement’). The Bill amends the Tariff Act 1988 and Part II of, and the notes to, the Tariff. The amendments will enable the application of preferential tariff rates under the Agreement, and will amend the rules on ‘goods re-entered after repair and alteration’ in the Tariff.
3.	We have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.

Jeff Orr
Chief Legal Counsel Office of Legal Counsel