51Section 17C(2) of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989.
52Clarity No 44, p 40.
53See, for examp le, the Property (Relationships) Act 1976, Personal Property Securities Act 1999, Animal
Pro ducts Act 1999 , New Zealand P ublic H ealth and D isability Act 2000, and Health Practitioners
Competence Assurance Act 2003.
34
as to be consistent with current legislative drafting practice. The need for these
changes is obvious. A statute reprinted in the pre-2000 format and reflecting earlier
drafting practices with post-2000 amendments in the current format and reflecting
current drafting practices would be a strange beast. The enlarged reprint powers are
subject to the overriding qualification that no change may be made that, if enacted,
would change the effect of the legislation.51
62
At about the same time, the format of United Kingdom statutes also underwent
substantial modification. The typeface is now Book Antiqua, described as a
compromise between the House of Lords (which recommended Times New Roman)
and the House of Commons (which recommended Palatino).52
63
The passage of the Interpretation Act 1999 was achieved as a result of the PCO, the
Law Commission, and the Ministry of Justice working in close collaboration over
a period of about 3 years. The changes to the format of legislation also took about
3 years to implement. Each depended on strong parliamentary support.
64
Numerous other changes have been made to the expression of New Zealand
legislation over recent years. They include
the use of outline sections or Parts that provide an overview of what a
particular Act is about53
the use of examples both in the text of the legislation and in separate