New Zealand Legislation: Acts

3 Interpretation

• (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

  applicant, in Part 6, means a group that makes an application

  application means an application under section 52

  Chief Registrar—

  • (a) means the Chief Registrar of Electors referred to in section 10(1); and

  • (b) includes the Chief Registrar's deputy; and

  • (c) includes any person acting under a delegation under section 11(2)

  citizens initiated referendum means an indicative referendum—

  • (a) that a person promotes under the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993; and

  • (b) that is specified in an Order in Council made under section 5(b) as an indicative referendum that must be conducted by postal voting

  Clerk of the House means the Clerk of the House of Representatives

  Court, in Part 6, means the High Court

  district means a General electoral district or a Maori electoral district constituted under the Electoral Act 1993

  elector means a person whose name lawfully appears on the referendum roll or the supplementary referendum roll

  electoral roll, in relation to any district, and subject to sections 101 and 103 of the Electoral Act 1993,—

  • (a) means the forms that the Registrar keeps of applications for registration of persons registered under the Electoral Act 1993 as electors of that district; and

  • (b) includes the forms deemed by 83A and 83D of the Electoral Act 1993 to be applications for registration as an elector

  electoral roll: this definition was amended, as from 18 March 2002, by section 101(3) Electoral Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 1) by substituting the expression “83A and 83D” for the expression “83(6)”.

  electorate code means a number indicating the district for which any elector is qualified to be enrolled

  give public notice means to do both of the following

  • (a) publish a notice in the Gazette; and

  • (b) issue a press statement

  government initiated referendum means an indicative referendum—

  • (a) that the New Zealand Government initiates; and

  • (b) that is specified in an Order in Council made under section 5(a) as an indicative referendum that must be conducted by postal voting

  hearing means the hearing of an application

  Minister means the Minister of Justice

  New Zealand Post Limited—

  • (a) means the company incorporated under the Companies Act 1993 pursuant to the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986; and

  • (b) includes any subsidiary of that company

  official publicity campaign means the publicity campaign conducted by the panel

  panel means any panel appointed by the Minister to conduct, on behalf of the New Zealand Government, a publicity campaign about a government initiated referendum

  person complained of means a person, named in an application as a person connected with the referendum, into whose conduct the application asks for an inquiry

  postal voting means the system provided by this Act for holding a referendum

  preliminary referendum roll means the list of electors described in section 14(1)

  processed means processed under section 42

  proposal means a proposal specified by an Order in Council made under section 6(1)

  question means a precise question determined by the Clerk of the House under section 11 of the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993

  referendum means a government initiated referendum or a citizens initiated referendum

  referendum material means material that is prepared by the panel and presented to electors for the purpose of informing them about each proposal that is the subject of the referendum

  referendum roll means the list of electors described in section 21(1)

  Registrar, in relation to any district,—

  • (a) means the Registrar of Electors appointed for that district under section 22 of the Electoral Act 1993; and

  • (b) includes the Registrar of Elector's deputy

  Registrar of Births and Deaths means a registrar within the meaning of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995

  Registrar of the Court means the Registrar of the High Court in Wellington

  respondent means a respondent to an application

  response means a response to a proposal or an answer to a question

  returned, in relation to a voting paper, means returned to the office of the Returning Officer

  Returning Officer—

  • (a) means the Returning Officer referred to in section 8(1); and

  • (b) includes the Returning Officer's deputy; and

  • (c) includes any person acting under a delegation under section 11(1)

  returning officer's copy of the roll means the copy of the referendum roll and the supplementary referendum roll supplied under section 24

  roll identifier number means the randomly generated number assigned to each elector by the Chief Registrar

  supplementary referendum roll means the list of electors described in section 22(1)

  voting paper,—

  • (a) when used in the definition of returned, and in sections 7(3)(b) and 39 to 50, means the detachable part of a voting paper in the prescribed form:

  • (b) when used in sections 66, 68, 74, 77, and 80(1)(c), means—

    • (i) the detachable part of a voting paper in the prescribed form; or

    • (ii) a voting paper in the prescribed form:

  • (c) when used elsewhere in this Act, means a voting paper in the prescribed form

  voting period means the voting period for a referendum described in section 30

  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 25 December in any year and ending with 15 January in the following year.

  (2) A reference to a numbered form is a reference to the form so numbered in Schedule 1.

  Compare: 1997 No 13 s 3

  Section 3(1) Registrar of Births and Deaths: amended, on 24 January 2009, by section 47 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 48).