70
the elusive concept of context and material outside t he text itself. To get the
complete picture one has to go to the text writers.
148
Modernisation of the law should be viewed as part of the infrastructure of any
modern democratic society committed to upholding the rule of law. Perhaps we
should look seriously at a properly resourced process for consolidation that was
effective in New Zealand in the early part of last century. Substantive modernisation
falls to the law reform agencies, who should be better supported in their important
work by governments and by more amenable parliamentary processes.
149
All this suggests that it will never be possible to design a perfect system for making
the law accessible in an absolute sense. While that has to be acknowledged, at the
same time modernisation must always be the objective. Consolidation, reprinting,
codification, general reform, as well as improvements in the language and style of
legislation are the principal mechanisms available. This is not, however, a journey
that has an end.