More laws rushed through Parliament under urgency than any term since 2008
The current New Zealand coalition government has passed a record number of laws under urgency, bypassing standard select committee scrutiny. Critics argue this trend undermines democratic oversight, while the government maintains it is necessary for efficiency.
Why it matters
This reflects a broader democratic debate regarding the balance between legislative speed and public accountability.
* This article has been updated to clarify that the number of laws passed under urgency is more than any year according to immediately available data going back to 2008.
The coalition government has passed more legislation in one term under urgency than any other Parliament since records dating back to 2008, raising concerns public scrutiny of proposed laws is diminishing.
Parliamentary Library data provided to RNZ showed 17.4 percent of all bills sent for Royal Assent in the first 940 days of this Parliament - to 2 July this year - passed through all stages of lawmaking all at once, skipping the select committee stage and its public feedback process.
This is part of an increasing trend over multiple parliaments. Over the same period, the Labour government passed 15.5 percent of bills in this way.
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