Constitution Amendment Bill
After a general election, there is a gap where no Members of Parliament (MPs) exist yet. New Zealand law says government ministers must be MPs, so this creates a problem — who runs the country in that gap? Currently, ministers can stay on for 28 days. This bill removes that fixed 28-day limit and instead lets ministers keep their jobs until the day after the Electoral Commission officially announces which list candidates (candidates chosen from party lists, not electorates) have been elected, which ties the end date to when the election process is actually finished.
What this affects
Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it, and the parts of the text that show it.
Making sure the government can keep making decisions and running public services without interruption straight after an election
The purpose of the bill is to address the risk of a potential gap in the continuity of executive government following an election.
a person who held office both as a member of Parliament and as a member of the Executive Council or as a Minister of the Crown immediately before having to vacate office as a member of Parliament... may continue to hold office... until the close of the day after the day on which the Electoral Commission declares... the elected list candidates.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Justice Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 14 September 2025.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.