New Zealand Legislation: Acts

17 Publishing false notice of birth, marriage, civil union, or death

• (1) Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding $500 who—

  • (a) Sends or delivers or causes to be sent or delivered to the proprietor, printer, or publisher of any newspaper, for the purpose of publication in that newspaper, a notice of the birth of a child, or of the marriage or civil union of any persons, or of the death of any person, knowing the notice to be untrue; or

  • (b) Being a printer or publisher of a newspaper, prints or publishes any such notice knowing it to be untrue.

  (2) Every printer or publisher of a newspaper is liable to a fine not exceeding $100 who, on application in writing made to him by a person interested within 14 days after the publication in the newspaper of the notice of a birth, a marriage, a civil union, or a death, refuses to furnish the person so applying with the name of the person who sent or delivered the notice for publication.

  Compare: 1927 No 35 s 19(1), (2); 1967 No 154 s 2(1)

  The heading to section 17 was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 7 Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3) by inserting the words “civil union,” after the word “marriage,”.

  Subsection (1)(a) was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 7 Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3) by inserting the words “or civil union” after the word “marriage”.

  Subsection (2) was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 7 Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3) by inserting the words “a civil union,” after the word “marriage,”.