ARTICLES

Analysis and commentary on law, policy, public power and institutional accountability.

Alan Hall Lost 19 Years to a Wrongful Conviction. Why Did It Stand for 36?

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The Supreme Court found that crucial evidence was deliberately altered, material was withheld from the defence, and police interviews became unfair and oppressive. Criminal charges against two former police officers and a former Crown prosecutor progressing.

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The Holidays Act Replacement

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The select committee has restored “rest and recreation”, strengthened roster rules and fixed gaps affecting public holidays and historical remediation. But the revised Bill still prorates sick leave, limits leave accrual to standard hours and replaces some paid time off with cash.

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Meth “Contamination”: When Policy Mistakes Detection for Danger

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New Zealand’s meth-contamination rules have improved, but the deeper problem remains: policy still too often treats trace detection as danger.

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When Public Power Fails, Process is Not a Technicality

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Accountability does not collapse all at once. It erodes through ordinary procedural failure, weak records, internal shortcuts and decisions that make scrutiny harder than it should be.

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You Won Your Personal Grievance. So Why Did You Get Nothing?

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2026 employment law changes mean an employee can prove that an employer acted unjustifiably, and still leave the ERA without reinstatement, compensation or even lost wages.

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Fairness at Work Is Often Procedural

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Employment disputes are rarely won or lost on principle alone. Records, process, timing and communication often determine whether fairness becomes a remedy or remains an aspiration.

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The Court File as Public Memory

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Open justice depends on more than public access. If court records are difficult to find, understand or scrutinise, the public record becomes technically open but practically obscure.

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Wicked Speech in the Workplace

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An ancient prohibition against harmful speech offers a modern warning: workplace gossip can destroy trust, damage reputations, breach employment duties and expose the speaker, and sometimes the employer, to legal consequences.

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