The government's constitutional review reported back at the
end of last year with an overall recommendation that we keep
discussing New Zealand's constitutional arrangements. On its
face, an uninspiring recommendation, but it has many interesting
findings.
Support for entrenchment
Probably of most legal interest is that while there is no broad
support for a supreme constitution, there was considerable support
for entrenching elements of the constitution. Entrenchment refers
to the enactment of legislation with special protections, so that
subsequent amendments require more than a standard parliamentary
majority (commonly a 85% majority is required).
Entrenchment, however, is a major constitutional issue in
itself. There is no mechanism in our legal arrangements for
entrenchment especially as the right of parliament to amend
legislation as it wishes is respected by the Courts. The Courts are
also unwilling to closely review parliament's actions.
