Clauses 4 and 5 amend the following provisions of the principal Act:

• section 3, in relation to the definition of General electoral population:

• section 35.

Those provisions are reserved provisions (see section 268(1)(c) of the principal Act) and the amendments will require to be passed by a majority of 75% of all of the members of the House of Representatives.

Clause 4 amends section 3(1) of the principal Act to replace the definition of General electoral population. Definitions of reference date and specified Parliament are also inserted into section 3(1) of the principal Act. Those terms are used in the definition of counting day for the purposes of the definition of General electoral population (see new section 3(1A) inserted by clause 4(3)) and for the purposes of the definition of Māori electoral population (see new section 3(1B) inserted by clause 6(3)).

Clause 5 amends section 35 of the principal Act to make the following substantive changes:

• the periodic division of New Zealand into General electoral districts that currently takes place every 5 years following a census is, in future, to take place every second parliamentary term, with the first division to take place during the parliamentary term underway when this Bill comes into force on 1 January 2030 (expected to be the 56th Parliament):

• the Surveyor-General must convene a first meeting of the members of the Representation Commission not later than 24 months before the term of the Parliament in which a division must be made is due to expire or, if the members representing the Government and the Opposition have not by then been appointed, as soon as possible after those 2 members have been appointed (this time frame ensures that the Commission is able to meet the reporting deadlines in new sections 40(1) and 45(9)):

• as soon as is reasonably practicable after the Government Statistician has received from the Electoral Commission the information needed to calculate the Māori electoral population, the Government Statistician must report to the Representation Commission—

  • the figure calculated for the Māori electoral population; and

  • the figure calculated for the General electoral population.

Clause 6 amends paragraph (b) of the definition of Māori electoral population in section 3(1) of the principal Act to replace a reference to census day with a reference to the counting day that is used for the purposes of the definition of General electoral population. The definitions of counting day and on census day are repealed as they are now redundant. Clause 6 also inserts new section 3(1B) into the principal Act to define counting day for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of Māori electoral population.

Clause 7 replaces section 29 of the principal Act to provide that the Chairperson of the Representation Commission and the members of the Representation Commission representing the Government and Opposition, unless they sooner resign, cease to hold office when the Parliament during which they were appointed is dissolved or expires. However, in the event of the early dissolution of that Parliament, they continue to hold office until the boundaries of the General electoral districts and Māori electoral districts are fixed by the Commission (see new sections 40A and 45A inserted by clauses 10 and 14, respectively).

Clause 8 amends section 33(2) of the principal Act to update the reference to the Deputy Surveyor-General being appointed under section 8 of the Survey Act 1986. The latter Act was repealed by the Cadastral Survey Act 2002 and the Deputy Surveyor-General is appointed under section 6(1) of that Act.

Clause 9 replaces section 40(1) of the principal Act. Currently, section 40(1) requires that within 6 months after the Representation Commission meets to discuss the maps showing the provisional boundaries of the General electoral districts, it must report its determinations to the Governor-General and publish a notice in the Gazette. This 6-month time frame is changed in new section 40(1) to a time frame of not later than 12 months before the term of the Parliament in which a division must be made is due to expire. Some technical amendments are also made to section 40(2) and (3) to clarify that references to electoral districts are to the General electoral districts (section 45 of the principal Act provides for the fixing, reporting, and notification of the Māori electoral districts).

Clause 10 inserts new section 40A into the principal Act. New section 40A provides for the situation where a Parliament is dissolved before the Representation Commission has completed a periodic division of New Zealand into General electoral districts. In this case, sections 35 to 40 of the principal Act continue to apply as if the Parliament had not been dissolved and the Chairperson of the Commission and the members of the Commission representing the Government and Opposition continue to hold office for this purpose despite new section 29(1) of the principal Act (see clause 7). This ensures that the Commission is able to complete its duties under the principal Act and report to the Governor-General the names and boundaries of the General electoral boundaries that it has fixed. A periodic division of New Zealand into General electoral districts that is completed in a subsequent Parliament is to be treated as having been completed in the Parliament in which the division commenced. This maintains the regular cycle of periodic divisions every second Parliament.

Clause 11 replaces section 41(1) of the principal Act to update its language and clarify that the reports referred to in that section are the reports of the Commission relating to the boundaries of the General electoral districts and Māori electoral districts.

Clause 12 replaces section 42(3) and (4) of the principal Act to update references to the Department of Survey and Land Information with references to Land Information New Zealand.

Clause 13 amends section 45 of the principal Act, which relates to the periodic division of New Zealand into Māori electoral districts. Section 45(1) and (2) is replaced to mirror new section 35(1) and (2). Section 45(9) is also replaced to mirror new section 40(1). Technical amendments are also made to section 45(3) to (8).

Clause 14 inserts new section 45A into the principal Act. New section 45A provides for the situation where a Parliament is dissolved before the Representation Commission has completed a periodic division of New Zealand into Māori electoral districts. In this case, section 45 of the principal Act continues to apply as if the Parliament had not been dissolved and the Chairperson of the Commission and the members of the Commission representing the Government and Opposition continue to hold office for this purpose despite new section 29(1) of the principal Act (see clause 7). This ensures that the Commission is able to complete its duties under section 45 and report to the Governor-General the names and boundaries of the Māori electoral boundaries that it has fixed. A periodic division of New Zealand into Māori electoral districts that is completed in a subsequent Parliament is to be treated as having been completed in the Parliament in which the division commenced. This maintains the regular cycle of periodic divisions every second Parliament. New section 45A is a parallel provision to new section 40A (inserted by clause 10).

Clause 15 replaces section 79(2) of the principal Act. The definitions of counting day and on census day in that subsection are replaced by a definition of counting day that is the same as in new section 3(1B) (inserted by clause 6(3)).

Clause 16 updates the description of General electoral population in section 268(1)(c) of the principal Act to align with the new definition of that term (see clause 4(1)).

Clause 17 amends Schedule 1AA of the principal Act to insert, as new Part 5 of that schedule, the 2 transitional provisions set out in the Schedule of this Bill.

The first transitional provision provides that the term of office of the Chairperson of the Representation Commission and the 2 members of the Commission appointed to represent the Government and the Opposition ceases on 1 January 2030 when this Bill comes into force.

The second transitional provision extends (by 4 months) the deadline for the Representation Commission to report and publish, under sections 40 and 45, respectively, the names and boundaries of the General electoral districts and Māori electoral districts following the completion of the first periodic division after the commencement of this Bill.