New Zealand Legislation: Acts

2 Interpretation

• In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

  Aerodrome means any defined area of land or water intended or designed to be used either wholly or partly for the landing, departure, movement, and servicing of aircraft; and includes any buildings, installations, roads, and equipment on or adjacent to any such area used in connection with the aerodrome or its adminstration; and also includes any defined air space required for the safe operation of aircraft using the aerodrome; and also includes a military airfield

  Airport authority has the same meaning as in the Airport Authorities Act 1966

  Airport authority: this definition was inserted, as from 18 December 1986, by section 9 Airport Authorities Amendment Act 1986 (1986 No 128).

  Chief Surveyor means the Chief Surveyor appointed for the land district in which is situated any land to be dealt with under this Act; and includes his deputy

  Construction and execution, in relation to a work, include the establishment, constitution, operation, maintenance and undertaking of the work; and construct and execute have corresponding meanings

  Crown land means all land included within that term in the Land Act 1948, except lands held or occupied by any person under the Crown on deferred payment, occupation with right of purchase, perpetual lease, lease in perpetuity, renewable lease, or under any other kind of lease or licence, or for any other estate or interest

  Defence work means—

  • (a) Any naval establishment, army camp, or air force base:

  • (b) Any arsenal and any other structure or place used for the purpose of constructing, repairing, making, or storing munitions or equipment for or belonging to the Armed Forces:

  • (c) Any other fortification, camping ground, training ground, parade ground, rifle, artillery, tank, weapon, or bomb range, or other work however designated which is constructed or intended to be used for the purpose of defence, and all roads or other works which may be requisite for approach to or otherwise necessary or convenient for the purposes of any such defence work:

  District Land Registrar means the District Land Registrar of the district within which any land to be dealt with or affected is situated; and includes the Registrar of Deeds of that district

  Drain means a passage, channel, or pipe on, over, or under the ground for the reception and discharge of stormwater or pollutants, whether continuously or intermittently

  Environment Court means the Environment Court constituted under the Resource Management Act 1991

  Environment Court: this definition was inserted, as from 2 September 1996, for the definition of the term Planning Tribunal pursuant to section 6(2)(a) Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).

  Essential work

  [Repealed]

  Essential work: this definition was repealed, as from 31 March 1987, by section 2(1) Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).

  Government work means a work or an intended work that is to be constructed, undertaken, established, managed, operated, or maintained by or under the control of the Crown or any Minister of the Crown for any public purpose; and includes land held or to be acquired for the purposes of the Conservation Act 1987 or any of the Acts specified in Schedule 1 to that Act (except the public foreshore and seabed), even where the purpose of holding or acquiring the land is to ensure that it remains in an undeveloped state

  Government work: this definition was substituted, as from 31 March 1987, by section 2(2) Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).

  Government work: this definition was amended, as from 10 April 1990, by section 37 Conservation Law Reform Act 1990 (1990 No 31) by inserting the words “; and includes land held or to be acquired for the purposes of the Conservation Act 1987 or any of the Acts specified in Schedule 1 to that Act, even where the purpose of holding or acquiring the land is to ensure that it remains in an undeveloped state”.

  Government Work: this definition was amended, as from 25 November 1994, by section 4 Foreshore and Seabed Endowment Revesting Amendment Act 1994 (1994 No 113) by inserting the words “(except land to which section 9A of the Foreshore and Seabed Endowment Revesting Act 1991 applies)”.

  Government Work: this definition was amended, as from 25 November 2004, by section 103(1) Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 (2004 No 93) by substituting the words “(except the public foreshore and seabed)” for the words “(except land to which section 9A of the Foreshore and Seabed Endowment Revesting Act 1991 applies)”.

  Intellectual property includes all property rights constituted by the Patents Act 1953, the Designs Act 1953, the Trade Marks Act 2002, and the Plant Varieties Act 1973, and includes any trade secret; but does not include any property rights constituted by the Copyright Act 1994

  Intellectual property: this definition was inserted, as from 31 March 1987, by section 2(3) Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).

  Intellectual property: this definition was amended, as from 1 January 1995, by section 136(1) Copyright Act 1994 (1994 No 143) by substituting the words “Copyright Act 1994” for the words “Copyright Act 1962”.

  Intellectual property: this definition was amended, as from 20 August 2003, by section 201 Trade Marks Act 2002 (2002 No 49) by substituting the words “Trade Marks Act 2002” for the words “Trade Marks Act 1953”. See clause 2 Trade Marks Act 2002 Commencement Order 2003 (SR 2003/188).

  Land includes any estate or interest in land

  Local authority means any regional council, territorial authority, Catchment Authority or Regional Water Board, Harbour Board, Electric Power Board, Education Authority within the meaning of the Education Act 1964, Council of any University within the meaning of the Universities Act 1961, Airport Authority, and any other person or body, however designated, having authority, under any Act, to undertake the construction or execution of any public work

  Local authority: this definition was amended, as from 31 March 1987, by section 2(4) Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67) by substituting the words “Education Authority within the meaning of the Education Act 1964, Council of any University within the meaning of the Universities Act 1961” for the words “Education Board”. Note: the term united council in section 2 Local Government Act 1974 was repealed, as from 1 November 1989, by section 2(17) of Local Government Amendment Act (No 2) 1989 (1989 No 29).

  Local authority: this definition was amended, as from 1 January 2001, by section 111(1) New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 (2000 No 91) by omitting the words “Hospital Board,”.

  Local authority: this definition was amended, as from 1 July 2003, by section 262 Local Government Act 2002 (2002 No 84) by omitting the words “united council,”. See sections 273 to 314 of that Act as to the savings and transitional provisions.

  Local work means a work constructed or intended to be constructed by or under the control of a local authority, or for the time being under the control of a local authority

  Minister

  [Repealed]

  Minister: this definition was repealed, as from 1 April 1988, by section 2(1) Public Works Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 43).

  Ministry

  [Repealed]

  Ministry: this definition was repealed, as from 1 April 1988, by section 2(1) Public Works Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 43).

  Motorway means a motorway declared as such by the Governor-General in Council under section 138 of this Act; and includes all bridges, drains, culverts, or other structures or works forming part of any motorway so declared; but does not include any local road, access way, or service lane (or the supports of any such road, way, or lane) that crosses over or under a motorway on a different level

  National Roads Board

  [Repealed]

  National Roads Board: this definition was repealed, as from 1 October 1989, by section 116(4) Transit New Zealand Act 1989 (1989 No 75).

  Notice means a statement conveying the general effect of a matter or thing done or intended to be done

  Planning Tribunal

  [Repealed]

  Planning Tribunal: this definition was amended, as from 1 October 1991, by section 362 Resource Management Act 1991 (1991 No 69) by substituting the words “under the Resource Management Act 1991” for the words “under the Town and Country Planning Act 1977”.

  Planning Tribunal: this definition was replaced, as from 2 September 1996, by the definition of Environment Court pursuant to section 6(2)(a) Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).

  public foreshore and seabed has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004

  public foreshore and seabed: this definition was inserted, as from 25 November 2004, by section 103(1) Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 (2004 No 93).

  Public notice means a notice published in a newspaper circulating in the area in which the subject-matter of the notice arises, or to which it relates; and, if there is no such newspaper, then by a printed or written placard posted in some conspicuous place on the land or works affected by such notice or to which it relates; and publicly notified has a corresponding meaning

  Public reserve and reserve have the same meaning as in the Reserves Act 1977

  Public work and work mean—

  • (a) Every Government work or local work that the Crown or any local authority is authorised to construct, undertake, establish, manage, operate, or maintain, and every use of land for any Government work or local work which the Crown or any local authority is authorised to construct, undertake, establish, manage, operate, or maintain by or under this or any other Act; and include anything required directly or indirectly for any such Government work or local work or use:

  • (b) Every Government work or local work constructed, undertaken, established, managed, operated, or maintained by any Education Authority within the meaning of the Education Act 1964 and every use of land for any Government work or local work which such Education Authority constructs, undertakes, establishes, manages, operates, or maintains, and include anything required directly or indirectly for any such Government work or local work or use:

  • (c) Any Government work or local work that is, or is required, for any university within the meaning of the Universities Act 1961:

  Public work and work: this definition was substituted, as from 31 March 1987, by section 2(5) Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).

  Railway includes—

  • (a) The land upon which any railway is made or authorised to be made under this Act, and all buildings and erections of every kind thereon, and all land held for railway purposes; and

  • (b) All buildings, erections, wharves, jetties, works, rolling stock, motor vehicles, vessels, plant, machinery, goods, chattels, and other fixed or moveable property of every description or kind capable of being used in respect of a railway, and situated or to be situated on any such land or held or used, or reputed to be held or used in connection with or for the purposes of a railway; and

  • (c) All telephone, electric telegraph, or other communications installations used in connection with a railway:

  Railway paragraph (b): this definition was substituted, as from 31 March 1987, by section 2(6) Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).

  Road means a road as defined in section 121 of this Act

  State highway means a state highway declared as such under section 60 of the Government Roading Powers Act 1989

  Stopping, in relation to a road, includes diverting

  Telecommunications installation includes any equipment, apparatus, structure, tunnel, manhole, pit, pole, wire, cable, tube, conduit, fibre, waveguide, or other physical medium used or intended to be used for or in connection with a telecommunications service

  territorial authority means a territorial authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2002; and, in relation to land that does not form part of the district of any such territorial authority, means the Minister of the Crown responsible for the administration of that Act

  Territorial authority: this definition was amended, as from 14 January 1983, by section 28(2) Local Government Amendment Act (No 2) 1982 (1982 No 166) by omitting the words “or to land in the Country of Fiord”.

  Territorial authority: this definition was amended, as from 1 April 1988, by section 2(2) Public Works Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 43) by inserting the words “of Local Government”.

  Territorial authority: this definition was substituted, as from 1 July 2003, by section 262 Local Government Act 2002 (2002 No 84). See sections 273 to 314 of that Act as to the savings and transitional provisions.

  Urban area

  [Repealed]

  Urban area: this definition was repealed, as from 1 July 2003, by section 262 Local Government Act 2002 (2002 No 84). See sections 273 to 314 of that Act as to the savings and transitional provisions.

  Working day means any day of the week other than—

  • (a) Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Labour Day, the Sovereign's birthday, and Waitangi Day; and

  • (b) A day in the period commencing with the 25th day of December in any year and ending with the 15th day of January in the following year.

  Compare: 1928 No 21 s 2

  Section 2 State highway: amended, on 1 August 2008, by section 50(1) of the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 47).

  State highway: this definition was amended, as from 1 October 1989, by section 116(4) Transit New Zealand Act 1989 (1989 No 75) by substituting the words “section 60 of the Transit New Zealand Act 1989” for the words “section 11 of the National Roads Act 1953”.

  Section 2 Transit New Zealand: repealed, on 1 August 2008, by section 50(1) of the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 47).