Home
Search
Site map
FAQ
NZ legislation
Client file
Careers
About the PCO
PAL Project
Links
Archive
Contact us

About this site
Access keys

Archive

Press releases

Media Statement, 1 April 2005

Supplementary information

This release provides further information on the financial aspects of the resumption of the PAL Project, as announced in the PCO/Unisys media statement of 16 March 2005.

What will the project cost to complete?

The original Government approval of the project in 2000 was based on an estimated cost of $5.19 million (GST inclusive) to complete the project, and ongoing operating costs estimated at $0.782 million (GST inclusive). Cabinet approval of the project required the project to be reviewed and resubmitted to the Government if it became apparent that the overall cost of the project would exceed the approved funding, or that the PCO was unable to acquire an electronic database of New Zealand legislation on acceptable terms.

The PCO selected Unisys New Zealand Limited as its implementation partner for the project. The project was to be undertaken in 2 stages. Stage 1 of the project, completed at the end of 2001, involved the development of user requirements and functional specifications, the evaluation and selection of the key technology components of the new system, and the selection of an electronic database of New Zealand legislation for purchase by the New Zealand Government. The PCO paid Unisys $0.697 million (GST inclusive) for Stage 1. The price for Stage 2 was to be agreed at the end of Stage 1, based on the results of the evaluation and selection of the technology to be implemented in Stage 2, and the cost of acquiring the database of legislation.

As a result of the work undertaken in Stage 1, the original cost estimates for the project were revised. The total cost of implementation was identified at $8.174 million (GST inclusive), and the ongoing operational costs at $1.13 million (GST inclusive). In February 2002, the Government approved additional funding of $2.983 million (GST inclusive) for the completion of the project, and additional ongoing funding of $0.348 million (GST inclusive). The PCO agreed to pay Unisys $5.65 million (GST inclusive) for the completion of Stage 2.

Under the commercial settlement between the PCO and Unisys that has enabled the project to resume, the PCO and Unisys will share the additional costs of completing the project. The PCO will pay Unisys an additional $3.037 million (GST inclusive) to complete the PAL Project to agreed time and quality criteria. When the PAL Project is completed, Unisys will house and maintain the new PAL system on behalf of the PCO at its Kapiti Data Centre.

The Cabinet has approved extra funding for the PCO to cover the additional payment to Unisys, the project management, independent quality assurance, and other costs of completing the project, and to cover the estimated ongoing costs of operating the new PAL system. This funding consists of a total capital contribution of $6.181 million for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years, and a total of $9.104 million (GST inclusive) of operational expenditure for the 2004/05, 2005/06, and 2006/07 financial years. The operational expenditure includes an amount to cover the cost of continuing the current arrangement with Legislation Direct for the provision of prepublication services, and the current arrangement with Brookers for the provision of the Interim Website of New Zealand Legislation, during the 2004/05 financial year and subsequent financial years until the PAL Project is completed. The amount of the additional funding for operating the PAL system after the project is completed is not being disclosed at this time, as a number of the components that make up the total costs are commercially sensitive.

What has been the overall cost of the delay to the project?

The overall costs incurred by the PCO as a result of the delay in the PAL Project are approximately $7.371 million (GST inclusive) for the period 1 March 2003 to 17 March 2005.

Reviews of the PAL Project

The PCO costs associated with the reviews of the project total $216,059. This includes the 2 reviews undertaken by InQuirion Pty Ltd: the Technical Review at a total cost to PCO of $172,253 and the Review of Alternative Print Rendering Engines at a cost of $43,806. A review of a revised project plan was undertaken by HeXaD Consulting and paid for by the State Services Commission.

Interim arrangements

Interim arrangements entered into as a consequence of the delay have cost the PCO approximately $6.27 million (GST inclusive). This includes the provision of the Interim Website of New Zealand Legislation by Brookers Ltd, and the provision of pre-publication services by Legislation Direct. Part of the additional operational funding referred to above is to cover the costs of these arrangements for the part of the 2004/05 financial year during which the project was delayed.

Other costs

Other costs that contribute to the overall costs incurred by the PCO as a result of the delay in the PAL Project and not included in the above categories total approximately $0.881 million (GST inclusive). These include project management services, legal services, independent quality assurance services and technical advice, and the cost of hosting arrangements for the proposed new PAL website.

Media Statement, 16 March 2005

The Public Access to Legislation (PAL) Project will resume following agreement between the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) and Unisys on the commercial basis on which the project will be completed, and Cabinet approval of that agreement.

The PAL Project is designed to improve the way in which New Zealand legislation (Bills, Acts, Statutory Regulations, and Supplementary Order Papers) is made available to the public. The aim of the project is to provide public access to up-to-date official legislation in both printed and electronic form. This involves the implementation of a new XML-based drafting and publishing system within the PCO, and a website with free public access.

The PAL Project was originally scheduled to go live in February 2003, but the PCO and Unisys identified a number of issues that required further work. In May 2003, the Government sought independent assurance that the system, when implemented, would be operationally stable, maintainable, and capable of future enhancement. A review, conducted by Australian-based firm InQuirion, provided that assurance.

The Government then authorised the PCO (together with Treasury and State Services Commission officials) to negotiate with Unisys over the terms on which the project could be completed.

As a result of those negotiations, Unisys will complete the project to agreed time and quality criteria and, when it is completed, Unisys will house and maintain the new PAL system on behalf of the PCO at Unisys’ Kapiti Data Centre.

Completion is not expected until late 2006 at the earliest. The Cabinet has approved extra funding for the PCO to cover the project management, independent quality assurance, and other costs of completing the project.

"We are pleased with the outcome of this negotiation process. We now look forward to working together with the aim of making legislation more accessible to New Zealanders", George Tanner, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Chris Thompson, Unisys Partner, Public Sector, Australia/New Zealand, jointly stated.

Media Statement, 22 June 2004

Contract for printing of legislation extended

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) and Blue Star Print Group Limited (Blue Star) have agreed to extend the present contract between the PCO and SecuraCopy (a subsidiary of Blue Star) for the printing, distribution, and sale of legislation until the end of March 2006. This was announced today by George Tanner, Chief Parliamentary Counsel, and Keith Brodie, Chief Executive Officer for Blue Star.

The printing contract with SecuraCopy was originally intended to expire in July 2004, and the contract put out to tender. A meaningful tender process cannot be undertaken until the impact of free public access to legislation on sales of printed legislation can be assessed, and the form in which the PCO will supply legislative material to a contracted printer is finalised. These matters are dependent on a Government decision on the future of the Public Access to Legislation (PAL) Project. The extension of the SecuraCopy contract will ensure the uninterrupted supply of legislation to Parliament, and the availability of printed legislation to the public, until these matters are resolved.

As part of the arrangement to extend the SecuraCopy contract, Blue Star has agreed to resume the supply of legislative data to the Knowledge Basket through Legislation Direct, also a Blue Star subsidiary. This will enable the Knowledge Basket to restore free public access via its website (at www.knowledge-basket.co.nz) to Acts and Statutory Regulations in an uncompiled form (ie, without their amendments incorporated), and Supplementary Order Papers, and to continue to provide free public access to Bills. In addition, the Knowledge Basket’s historical collection, which includes legislation repealed or revoked since the collection was first started in 1987, will also be made available again for free public browsing.

The restoration of the Knowledge Basket service will ensure, in particular, that legislative data is available in a format that can be accessed by blind and vision impaired persons.

Given the unique significance of the Knowledge Basket’s collection of legislative data, Blue Star has also agreed that, at the end of the term of the printing contract, a copy of that collection will be supplied to the PCO so that it can be preserved in the public domain.

The arrangement with Blue Star, and the restoration of the Knowledge Basket service, does not affect the PCO’s current arrangement with Brookers to provide the interim website of New Zealand legislation (at www.legislation.govt.nz). This website provides free public access to unofficial versions of New Zealand Acts and Statutory Regulations in an up-to-date form (ie, with their amendments incorporated).

Hard copies of legislation (including Bills) continue to be available from Legislation Direct and normal retail outlets. Electronic copies of Bills, Acts, and Statutory Regulations may also be purchased from Legislation Direct.

Media Statement, 20 October 2003

New reprints of legislation published

The Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) is pleased to announce the publication of the first reprints to be produced by the PCO's new Reprints Unit. All reprints will now be published only in pamphlet form. The pamphlet copy format replaces the bound Reprinted Statutes of New Zealand Series (the brown volumes), the last volume of which (Volume 42) was published earlier this year. Reprints of Statutory Regulations will no longer be included in the Statutory Regulations Series under a new number.

A reprint combines a principal enactment with its subsequent amendments, up to a particular date. The format of reprints has been redesigned so that they simply present the law as is, without the convention of using square brackets or ellipses, etc, to highlight individual amendments. History notes have been retained so that users may trace the origin of particular amendments.

The first reprints in the new format are the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Medicines Regulations 1984, and the Privacy Act 1993, and the following titles are scheduled for reprinting over the next few months:

These titles were selected and prioritised according to the following criteria:

The PCO welcomes suggestions for Acts or Statutory Regulations to be reprinted. Please include the reasons for your suggestion when contacting Juliet Price, Reprints Unit Co-ordinator (phone: 64 4 471 9166; fax: 64 4 499 3024; or email: juliet.price@parliament.govt.nz).

The reprints are available through Bennetts Government Bookshops and certain other retail outlets, or from Legislation Direct on subscription. Subscribers to the Reprinted Acts (RS Volumes) have been automatically transferred to this service.

For information on the subscription service, please contact the Subscriptions and Standing Orders Manager at Legislation Direct (phone: 64 4 494 6811; fax: 64 4 495 2880; or email: ldenquiries@legislationdirect.co.nz).

Media Statement, 9 September 2002

Hon Margaret Wilson
Attorney-General

New Zealand Legislation goes on line

Attorney-General Margaret Wilson today launched the first, free public online access to up-to-date electronic versions of Acts and Statutory Regulations.

The launch of www.legislation.govt.nz represents a significant initial step in achieving the objectives of the Public Access to Legislation (PAL) Project, she said. The project aims to improve public access to legislation in both printed and electronic form.

The website is a temporary measure, offering a basic, searchable, unofficial electronic database of New Zealand legislation. It will be replaced by a more comprehensive database, which will include Bills before Parliament, early next year.

The interim legislation site, developed and hosted by professional publisher, Brookers, will allow users to navigate through Statutes and Regulations down to section level and hypertext link between legislation references. Users will be able to search through all online legislation for selected words or phrases, and look for specific pieces of legislation by name or section number.

"In launching this site, the Government is moving closer towards fulfilling its responsibility to make legislation readily available to the public, both as enacted and in an up-to-date form with amendments incorporated," Margaret Wilson said.

"It is also an important development in terms of implementing the Government's E-government strategy, and will provide significant content for the new Government web portal when that goes live."

Margaret Wilson said it is hoped the interim site will be used extensively, and generate sustained interest in the full website, which is expected to go live early in 2003."

The PAL Project is being undertaken by the Parliamentary Counsel Office with implementation partner, Unisys New Zealand. Brookers was selected earlier this year to work with Unisys and provide the Parliamentary Counsel Office with the electronic legislation database and associated services for the PAL Project.

For more information on the PAL Project, visit www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/pal/

Contacts:

Press Release, February 2002

Hon Margaret Wilson
Attorney-General

New Zealanders will soon have a world-class system for accessing New Zealand legislation with the Government's decision to go ahead with the next stage of the Public Access to Legislation (PAL) Project, the Attorney-General Hon Margaret Wilson announced today.

"This second stage involves implementing the new systems that will see authoritative, accurate, and up-to-date versions of New Zealand legislation (including Bills) available without charge, through the Internet," she said.

The work, which will be undertaken by the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) and Unisys New Zealand Limited, is expected to be completed early next year. However, it is hoped to have an interim website up and running by the end of June this year when the new Government web portal is due to go live.

"Improving public access to legislation is an essential part of the Government's efforts to improve interaction with its citizens, and generally improve democratic processes," Margaret Wilson said. "An efficient system for accessing legislation is as much a part of the basic infrastructure of a modern society as its roads."

"The PAL Project will also be a major step forward in terms of the Government's E-government strategy of achieving increased public participation and confidence in government," Margaret Wilson said.

For more information, contact Leigh Sutton (04) 471 9337 or (021) 864 811.

Press Release, 13 July 2001

Hon Margaret Wilson
Attorney-General

New Zealand legislation@your.service: Government signs contract with Unisys

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has signed a contract with Unisys New Zealand Ltd as its implementation partner for the project to improve public access to legislation, the Attorney-General, Margaret Wilson, announced today.

With the signing of the contract, the PCO and Unisys can now begin work on designing the systems and processes that will make authoritative, accurate, and up-to-date versions of New Zealand legislation available without charge, through the internet.

Stage 1 of the project is expected to be completed by late November this year. That stage involves an analysis of the structure of New Zealand legislation, and the development of user requirements and functional specifications for a new drafting system, an electronic database of legislation, and electronic and hard copy legislation access systems. It will also involve the development of selection criteria for the acquisition of an electronic database of New Zealand legislation.

Unisys will be assisted in that work by Media Technology Limited, an Australian company specialising in publishing technology analysis, and which has done similar work for the New South Wales Parliamentary Counsel's Office. In addition, four New Zealand legal publishers (Brookers, Butterworths/Status, CCH, and Legislation Direct) will provide technical assistance and advice.

Stage 2, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2002, involves the acquisition of an electronic database of New Zealand legislation, and the implementation of the systems needed to make that database available over the internet as well as a new drafting tool for law drafters.

"This project will significantly improve public access to legislation", said Margaret Wilson.

"The right of the public to access legislation is a fundamental democratic right, and the State has a duty to facilitate that access.

"This project also shows how the objectives outlined in the Government's E-Government strategy - to harness technology to provide the public with a better, more cost-effective, and efficient service - can be achieved by public service innovation".

Media Statement, 7 May 2001

Hon Margaret Wilson
Attorney-General

E-Government: New Zealand legislation@your.service

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has selected Unisys New Zealand Ltd as the preferred implementation partner for the project to improve public access to legislation, the Attorney-General, Margaret Wilson, announced today.

The government plans to make authoritative, accurate, and up-to-date versions of New Zealand legislation available without charge through the internet. Print access will continue to be provided at a reasonable price.

"The announcement is timely in view of the recent launch of the Government's e-government strategy," said Margaret Wilson.

"The access to legislation project is an excellent illustration of how well technology will be used to improve access to Government information. The project will provide access to New Zealand legislation in a convenient, cost-effective way, and will make citizens better informed and better able to participate in government.

"The selection of Unisys marks the end of the request for implementation partner process begun in December last year. That process has taken longer than anticipated due to the extremely high quality of the responses and the nature of the issues that they raised. This made the evaluation process difficult and time-consuming. The Parliamentary Counsel Office is grateful to all the firms that submitted responses, and appreciates the time, effort, and expense that they have contributed to the process.

The next stage in the project, following the conclusion of a contract with Unisys, is to begin stage 1. This involves the detailed planning, scoping, and analysis necessary to properly identify the processes and systems required to improve public access to legislation.

"This is a significant milestone in the project", said the Minister. The project still has a long way to go, but will eventually provide significant benefits to all users of legislation.

Media Contact: Colin Feslier 021 864 811 04 471 9337

Press release, 27 November 2000

Hon Margaret Wilson
Attorney-General

New Zealand legislation on the Net - E-Government in action

The government is to make authoritative, accurate, and up-to-date versions of New Zealand legislation available without charge through the internet. Print access will continue to be provided at a reasonable price.

The Attorney General, Margaret Wilson says the planned website will also provide free public access to bills at each stage of the parliamentary process.

"This will enhance the opportunity for people to participate in the democratic process, because it will be easier for them to access proposed changes to the law, and to make submissions on those changes.

"The plan is a significant step towards providing the public with a world class system for accessing New Zealand legislation," said Ms Wilson.

"The Government believes that the right of the public to access legislation is a fundamental democratic right. Until now, the State has provided access to legislation only in a printed form. This form of access no longer meets the needs of many people. Providing access to legislation in an electronic form will better meet the needs of people to have rapid access to current legislation, so that they can easily find out what their legal rights, responsibilities, and remedies are.

"It is an excellent example of E-Government in action," said Ms Wilson. "This initiative fits very well with recent initiatives in e-commerce. It will support the provisions of the Electronic Transactions Bill, because overseas businesses will be able to access an up-to-date version of the relevant New Zealand law.

"The next steps are to acquire or develop an electronic database of New Zealand legislation and develop a new drafting tool for law drafters. New systems will also be needed for internet access and producing legislation in printed form.

The Parliamentary Counsel Office will shortly be issuing a request for an implementation partner to assist with the management of these projects.

The project will begin immediately. A target completion date will be set after preliminary work on the acquisition of an electronic database of legislation has been completed.

"When the access project is completed, the New Zealand public will have a legislation access service that is comparable to that available to most users of legislation in comparable jurisdictions overseas", said Ms Wilson.

"It is also an excellent example of the opportunities that E-Government presents to provide higher quality, cost-effective, government services and to enhance the relationship between New Zealanders and their government."

Media Inquiries: Colin Feslier 025 864 811     04 471 9337

Press release, 8 June 2000

Request for expressions of interest

The Parliamentary Counsel Office is seeking expressions of interest from providers to enable improvements to be made in providing public access to legislation, including both hard copy and internet access.

The project will involve system and process changes relating to the three inter-related components of drafting, legislation management, and access.

Firms submitting a response to the Request for Expressions of Interest will be expected to outline a recommended approach and indicative costs to enable a business case to be submitted for Government approval.

The Office has engaged consultants to assist in this process.

Responses should be provided to the Parliamentary Counsel Office by 5:00pm on Monday 3 July 2000.

Copies of the Request for Expressions of Interest document can be obtained from the Office or downloaded in PDF format from www.pco.parliament.govt.nz.

Enquiries should be directed to either Ian Sliper, (472-9639, e-mail: ian.sliper@parliament.govt.nz, or Geoff Steel, (471-9306, e-mail: geoff.steel@parliament.govt.nz).

Press release, 10 April 2000

Legislation on the Net

"There is currently no official electronic version of New Zealand legislation. The Government is taking the next steps in a process designed to remedy that gap" said Attorney-General, Margaret Wilson.

"This announcement signals the next stage in the steps being taken by the Government to improve public access to legislation" said the Minister. "The Government has authorised the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) to produce a business case for the development of a system that would provide an authoritative, accurate and up-to-date electronic database of New Zealand legislation, made publicly available over the Internet."

"Responses to a 1998 Parliamentary Counsel Office public discussion paper on this issue indicated that many people felt frustration that, while they could access legislation of numerous overseas jurisdictions over the Internet, they could not do so for themselves here at home. It was clear from the submissions received that there was a high level and broad range of interest in improving public access to legislation. A clear majority of submissions felt that a key function of the State was to make official, up-to-date legislation available in both printed and electronic form. The Government endorses that view."

In July 1999, the PCO engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the options for improving public access to legislation. PricewaterhouseCoopers has examined similar systems or proposed systems in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. Consequently it has recommended PCO—

"PCO now has been directed to submit the business case on these matters (including detailed costings) to the Government by the middle of this year. If the Government accepts the business case, the next phase involves putting that new system into action" said Margaret Wilson.

"This initiative fits well with the Government's vision of being a leader and model user of information technology. It would be an excellent example of what my ministerial colleague, Trevor Mallard, has described as the Government walking the talk in harnessing information technology to provide a high quality service to the public."

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report on improving access to legislation is available on this site in PDF. Copies are also available on request from the PCO at Level 13, Reserve Bank Building, 2 The Terrace, PO Box 18-070, Wellington. Telephone (04) 472 9639.

For further comment contact Kevin Hume, Press Secretary (04) 471 9337 or 025 864 811 (mobile).

Press Release, 14 September 1998

Public access to legislation

Issues surrounding public access to legislation are canvassed in a discussion paper distributed by the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

The Attorney-General, Rt Hon D.A.M. Graham, said today the paper is principally about how legislation should be made available to the public.

It also raises the issue of how proposed changes to Acts in the form of Bills presented to Parliament might be better presented to the public.

'Official versions of legislation are currently made available to the public only in a printed form,' he said.

'These days the printed medium is just one way of obtaining information. Much information is now available in electronic form.

'In particular, information previously made available in printed form is now disseminated on CD-Rom or is accessible on-line from the Internet.

'This new technology is equally applicable to the dissemination of legislation, and many overseas jurisdictions are now making their legislation publicly available in both printed and electronic form.

The discussion paper raises the following issues:

Mr Graham said the Government invited comments by 31 October from users of legislation and the general public on these issues.

'While the Government has yet to determine its policy on these issues, their comments will be taken into account when formulating recommendations on these issues,' he said.

Copies of the discussion paper are available from:
Parliamentary Counsel Office, PO Box 18 070, Wellington.
Phone: 04 472 9639. Fax: 04 499 1724.
Internet: http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz

Press Release, 24 June 1998

Legislation users surveyed on format

Users of legislation are being surveyed on proposed changes to the format of legislation as part of a process directed to making the law easier to understand.

The Attorney-General, Rt Hon D.A.M. Graham, said today the survey was being carried out following recommendations from the Law Commission.

'The Law Commission recommended changes to the design and typography of legislation in recognition of the fact that the physical appearance of legislation is an important factor affecting its accessibility to those who use it,' he said.

Since their report was published, representatives of the Parliamentary Counsel Office, the Law Commission, the Office of the Clerk, the Inland Revenue Department's drafting unit and GP Print Ltd have been reviewing the recommended changes.

'Before a final recommendation is made to the Government, the working group is keen to get feedback from a wide range of users of legislation.'

A survey pack containing samples of the current typeface and types size and six alternatives has been put together. It uses the Defamation Act, the original sample used in the Law Commission's report.

Mr Graham said the main point to be considered is the legibility and comprehension of legislation.

Copies of the survey pack are available from Julia Kennedy, Manager Support Services, Parliamentary Counsel Office, or Susan Clarke, Legal Executive, Parliamentary Counsel Office: Ph (04) 472 9639; Fax (04) 499 1724; email susan.clarke@parliament.govt.nz.

Appointments

Press Release, 15 May 1998

Appointment of Bill Moore

The Attorney-General, Hon D.A.M. Graham, today announced the appointment of W.A. (Bill) Moore as a Parliamentary Counsel in the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

Mr Moore, currently Corporate Manager of the Ministry of Justice's Legal Services Group, will take up his appointment in August.

Mr Graham said the Parliamentary Counsel Office is fortunate in securing the services of such an experienced and highly regarded lawyer. The appointment will add further strength to the office, which is in the process of building up its drafting resource.

Mr Moore, who graduated BA LLB from Victoria University in 1979, has extensive legal experience in Government.

In his current role he is responsible for the co-ordination of the Ministry of Justice's legislative programme, he is a core official on the Cabinet Committee for Legislation and House Business and he is a member of the Criminal Practice Committee. He provides legal advice to the Ministry and the Minister of Justice on a wide range of issues, including advice on applications for the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and on the exercise of powers under section 406 of the Crimes Act. He is also responsible for Bill of Rights monitoring of Government legislation apart from legislation in the Justice portfolio.

Mr Moore is a former Senior Legal Adviser in the Department of Justice's Law Reform Division. His area of expertise includes criminal law and procedure, extradition, official information, electoral law and copyright. He has also had an extensive involvement in the development of legislative proposals in other areas, including transport and child welfare.

He worked on a number of significant Bills including those relating to bail, electoral reform, copyright and extradition.

Before joining Law Reform Division, he worked as a solicitor in the Department of Labour where his responsibilities included litigation, contracts and opinion work, and legislation.

The Parliamentary Counsel Office is responsible for drafting most of New Zealand's legislation.