New proposed laws include abortion 'safe zones' and informing schools of nearby sex offenders

The Beehive, New Zealand's Parliament.

Five new proposed laws were pulled from the ballot today, including notifying school principals when sex offenders are placed near their schools and creating "safe areas" around specific abortion facilities.

The bills will be introduced to Parliament where it must pass three readings and go through two committees before it can become law. 

Labour MP Louisa Wall's  Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill would allow the creation of "safe areas around specific abortion facilities, on a case-by-case basis".

"No other group is subjected to protest simply for going to their doctor, nor should these people be," the bill states. 

The area would be 150 metres around an abortion facility banning "intimidating, interfering with, or obstructing a protected person" in a manner that could cause emotional distress. 

Abortion was removed from the Crimes Act earlier this year. During the process, MPs made changes which saw the provision for safe zones scrapped, after a  confused vote in Parliament .

National's Matt Doocey's bill would require Corrections to inform schools of sex offenders placed within five kilometres of the nearest school if there are none within 5km. 

"As a parent it’s outrageous that local schools are not informed of a sex offender’s placement in their community," he said. 

Corrections would have to inform schools 48 hours before the release of a sex offender into a community, or within 72 hours of housing the sex offender in a new residential address.

Hutt South MP Chris Bishop's  Lawyers and Conveyancers (Employed Lawyers Providing Free Legal Services) Amendment Bill  aims to allow a lawyer who is an employee to do free legal work other than for the lawyer’s employer. 

"Many people will be surprised to learn that currently under the Act, an employed lawyer is deemed guilty of misconduct if the lawyer does legal work outside of the lawyer’s employment," Mr Bishop said. 

"Any in-house lawyer who, for example, advises a friend on a tenancy dispute matter or a domestic building contract, or who amends the local tramping club’s rules is considered guilty of misconduct."

Shane Reti's  Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill (No 2)  would allow medicinal cannabis products to be approved in the same way a medicine is approved by MedSafe, medical practitioners would decide who should have access to a Medicinal Cannabis Card and medicinal cannabis products would be pharmacist-only medicine.

The law to allow an exception and a defence for terminally ill people to possess and use cannabis and to possess a cannabis utensil passed late 2018.

Gerry Brownlee's  Companies (Limited Partnerships Identical Names Prohibition) Amendment Bill  would "rectify an anomaly" between the Companies Act and the Limited Partnerships Act. 

Currently the Companies Act does not prohibit the names of new companies that are identical or nearly identical to an existing limited partnership, but the Limited Partnerships Act does. The bill would alter the Companies Act.

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