Our advocacy team makes regular submissions before Select Committees on gender justice and the law, harnessing the existing scholarship of the Journal to submit on important legislative changes in Aotearoa.

If you are interested in getting involved with our advocacy work, please contact our Advocacy Managers, Beth Murfitt and Sophie Vreeburg, at advocacy.nzwlj@gmail.com.

Examples of our previous submissions are linked below.

April 2026: Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill
In April 2026 the Journal made a written submission on the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill.

The Bill proposes a number of changes to the Immigration Act 2009 (the Act), most notably to the deportation liability and appeal rights of some of our most vulnerable communities. The Journal strongly opposes these changes on the basis that they fail to acknowledge the complex realities of migrants, particularly women, who are driven to offend as a result of their immigration status.

The Journal’s position is that there are other recommendations that the Committee should make that better meet the purpose of the Act and improve the wider immigration system. These include a comprehensive review of the Victims of Family Violence visa policy and repeal of s 19 of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. A copy of the submission can be found here.

December 2025: Open letter regarding Law Society decision to approve James Gardner-Hopkins’ practising certificate
In December 2025 the Journal wrote an open letter expressing its disappointment about the Law Society’s decision to approve Mr Gardner-Hopkins’ practising certificate. A copy of our letter can be found here

September 2025: Electoral Amendment Bill
The Bill proposes to disqualify all prisoners who are convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment from enrolling and voting while in prison. This aspect of the Bill, being the disenfranchisement of prisoners, is what this submission addresses.

The Journal strongly opposes the disenfranchisement of prisoners for the following reasons:

  • it entrenches existing inequalities for those who make up our prison population, and are sentenced to terms of imprisonment, which disproportionately includes women, and thereby, undermines their democratic participation;

  • it is well-established, and the New Zealand Senior Courts concur, that this is entirely inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (NZBORA);

  • it breaches the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as affirmed by the Waitangi Tribunal and the Minister of Justice;

  • it shows no due regard to international law and the commitments New Zealand has made to the international community and the persons it represents.

A copy of this submission can be found here.

September 2025: Feedback to New Zealand Law Society on potential changes to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 and secondary legislation
The Journal provided feedback to the New Zealand Law Society on proposed changes to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (the Act) and to secondary legislation made under the Act, namely Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Practice Rules) Regulations 2008 (the Practice Rules).

A copy of this feedback can be found here.

May 2025: Open letter to Hon Brooke van Velden on pay equity legislation.
In May 2025 the Journal wrote an open letter to Brooke van Velden expressing its opposition to the Equal Pay Amendment Bill which was passed "under urgency". A copy of our letter can be found here

March 2025: The Journal has written a letter to the New Zealand Law Society expressing its concerns regarding the eligibility of James Gardner-Hopkins to practice as a lawyer.
A copy of our letter can be found here

February 2025: Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill
In February 2025, the Journal made a written submission on the Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill. In March 2025, the Journal made an oral submission on the Bill.

The Journal supports the changes proposed by the Bill and its objective to recognise the harm that victims experience and to ensure offenders are prosecuted effectively.

The criminalisation of stalking, which is a form of psychological abuse, is long overdue. However, in expressing its support for the Bill the Journal notes that the focus of the legislative changes appears to favour the effective prosecution of the offender. The Journal’s position is that these reforms must also focus on identifying the ongoing risks, and any reducing corresponding harm, to victims of stalking offending.

Accordingly, the Journal makes three recommendations in respect of technical aspects of the Bill to ensure, consistent with its policy objective, that the harm victims experience is recognised and to align the proposed changes with other jurisdictions that have well-established stalking laws.

In the second part of its submission, the Journal outlines several challenges that will need to be addressed in order to ensure that the Bill’s policy objective is realised. A copy of the submission can be found here

January 2025: Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill
In January 2025, the Journal made a written submission on the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. In February 2025, it made an oral submission on the Bill. 

Overall, the Journal supports the policy objective of the Bill, which is to create transparency in pay and to enable pay discrimination to be more easily identified and remedied. Increased pay transparency will align Aotearoa New Zealand with the laws of other jurisdictions, such as Australia and the United Kingdom.

In expressing its support for pay equity and transparency legislation, the Journal makes recommendations in respect of technical aspects of the proposed amendments to ensure the gendered dimensions of pay discrimination are addressed, in line with the Bill’s policy objective. 

The Journal also highlights that legal mechanisms alone are insufficient to achieve the policy objectives of the Bill. Accordingly, in the second part of its submission, the Journal makes several recommendations for further changes that will address pay transparency on a broader level. A copy of the submission can be found here

January 2025: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill 
In January 2025, the Journal made a submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. The overarching objective of the Bill is to “define” what the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are in statute by introducing three new  “principles”. 

The Journal opposes the Bill. The Journal agrees with the submission made by our colleagues at Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa - the Māori Law Society (Te Hunga Rōia) that the proposed principles are inconsistent with both versions of the Treaty of Waitangi (the Treaty) and were developed without meaningful consultation with Māori. 

The Journal’s position is that, as a consequence of these inconsistencies and the lack of consultation, the Bill further erodes the constitutional protections and guarantees contained in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti) for wāhine Māori and perpetuates the existing intersectional inequities and discrimination that this community faces. The Journal submits that, against this context, the Bill should be abandoned. A copy of the submission can be found here.

2019: Purea Nei - Changing the Culture of the Legal Profession

The research report resulted from a project engaging people of all genders in the legal profession in New Zealand about issues such as workplace expectations and culture, diversity and inclusion, sexual harassment, bullying, gender inequality, training and education, leadership, management, remuneration, the future of work and several other employment related issues.

The lead investigators are Ana Lenard, Allanah Colley and Bridget McLay from the Journal. They collected a breadth of experience, ideas and practical tips and tools from over 700 people who participated in this research.

Purea Nei means to cleanse and renew and the researchers state “we hope that this document provides a useful springboard for workplace, and broader, conversations about how we can improve the culture of the legal profession.”

Research Report: Purea Nei —  Changing the Culture of the Legal Profession

Link to video of launch of Purea Nei report and panel discussion —  26 February 2020

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