Whai Rawa Railway v BC 201036 [2024] NZCA 207
Episode 92 noted that the frequent instruction of our High Court to have regard to text, context and purpose12 is hardwired into NZ legislation. Section 10(1) of their Legislation Act 2019 says – ‘The meaning of legislation must be ascertained from its text and in the light of its purpose and its context’.
As Whai Rawa explains (at [54-55]), this is the starting point of analysis13. Even where the text may appear plain in isolation, its meaning ‘should always be cross-checked against purpose’. Social, commercial or other objectives may also be relevant. As the leading textbook in the area says, the purposive approach ‘is more in line with democratic theory’14.
This principle is from Episode 110 of interpretation NOW!
Footnotes:
12 Moorcroft [2021] HCA 19 [15], Westpac [2021] HCA 3 [54].
13 Fonterra [2007] NZSC 36 [22], TN [2023] NZCA 664 [60] for example.
14 Carter Burrows & Carter Statute Law in New Zealand (308).