(1) The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the relevant Minister, make any provision that is reasonably necessary or expedient for all or any of the purposes stated in section 3(a) to (g).
(2) An Order in Council made under subsection (1) may grant exemptions from, modify, or extend any provisions of any enactment for all or any of the purposes stated in section 3(a) to (g).
(3) The enactments that may be the subject of an Order in Council that does anything referred to in subsection (2) include (without limitation) the following:
(a) the Building Act 2004:
(b) the Cadastral Survey Act 2002:
(c) the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002:
(d) the Commerce Act 1986:
(e) the Earthquake Commission Act 1993:
(f) the Health Act 1956:
(g) the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001:
(h) the Historic Places Act 1993:
(i) the Land Transport Act 1998:
(j) the Land Transport Management Act 2003:
(k) the Local Government Act 1974:
(l) the Local Government Act 2002:
(m) the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987:
(n) the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002:
(o) the Public Works Act 1981:
(p) the Rating Valuations Act 1998:
(q) the Reserves Act 1977:
(r) the Resource Management Act 1991:
(s) the Road User Charges Act 2012:
(t) the Social Security Act 1964:
(u) the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941:
(v) the Transport Act 1962:
(w) the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.
(4) An exemption from, modification of, or extension of a provision may be—
(a) absolute or subject to conditions; and
(b) made by—
(i) stating alternative means of complying with the provision; or
(ii) substituting a discretionary power for the provision.
(5) To avoid doubt, an exemption from, modification of, or extension of a provision may be for the purposes of enabling the relaxation or suspension of provisions in enactments that—
(a) may divert resources away from the effort to—
(i) efficiently respond to the damage caused by the Canterbury earthquakes:
(ii) minimise further damage; or
(b) may not be reasonably capable of being complied with, or complied with fully, owing to the circumstances resulting from the Canterbury earthquakes.
(6) Despite subsections (2) to (5), an Order in Council made under this section may not—
(a) grant an exemption from or modify a requirement to—
(i) release a person from custody or detention; or
(ii) have any person’s detention reviewed by a court, Judge, or Registrar; or
(b) grant an exemption from or modify a restriction on keeping a person in custody or detention; or
(c) grant an exemption from or modify a requirement or restriction imposed by the Bill of Rights 1688, the Constitution Act 1986, the Electoral Act 1993, the Judicature Amendment Act 1972, or the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990; or
(d) contain any provision having the effect of amending this section or section 3, 6, 72 to 76, or 93.
(7) Subsections (2) to (5) do not limit subsection (1).
Section 71(3)(s): replaced, on 1 August 2012, by section 94 of the Road User Charges Act 2012 (2012 No 1).