URGENT ACTION: The Policing Amendment Bill (March–April 2026)

While we’ve been focused on other matters, a new item of "Legal Clothing" is being draped over our public spaces. Parliament is fast-tracking the Policing Amendment Bill, and if it passes, the freedom of our beaches and reserves will be at the mercy of a single constable's "subjective discomfort." The Policing Amendment Bill 2026 is a direct threat to our right to bodily autonomy in appropriate public spaces. Submissions close at 1:59 pm on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

The Bill effectively gives Police "unchecked surveillance powers". It allows them to record anyone in public for vague "intelligence purposes" without needing to suspect a specific crime. Crucially, it expands temporary closure powers to include parks, reserves, and beaches—allowing a constable to clear these areas on loose "reasonable grounds" that public disorder is "imminent".

• The Surveillance Loophole: The Bill gives Police the power to photograph and record anyone in public for "intelligence gathering" without needing to suspect a specific crime. This can include you legitimately sunbathing naked on the beach or hiking naked in a national park.
  

• The Beach Closure Power: Part 2 of the Bill expands "temporary closure" powers beyond roads to include beaches, parks, and reserves. A constable only needs "reasonable grounds" to believe disorder is "imminent" to clear and close the area — a subjective standard that could easily be used to target clothes-free recreation and events. A subjective assessment of "reasonable grounds" can simply be reached by personal discomfort experienced by a police officer - e.g. seeing a naked person on the beach.

  
  

• The Identification Trap: The Bill introduces a new $1,000 fine for failing to leave a closed area or failing to provide biographical details to a constable.

  
  

What you can do:

We've created a submission template that you can use to submit to the Justice Select Committee on the parliamentary website. Simply copy and paste the template as it is, or edit into your own words if you prefer. But remember - you need to get this in before 1:59 pm on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

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Submission Template: Policing Amendment Bill 2026

To: The Justice Committee

Regarding: Policing Amendment Bill (No. 268-1)

Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2026 (1:59 pm)

[Your Name / Organisation Name]

[Your Contact Details - Keep separate if you want them private]

Submission Summary:

I strongly oppose the Policing Amendment Bill in its entirety. While I support the need for effective policing, this Bill grants overly broad powers that infringe upon the fundamental rights of New Zealanders to use public spaces without fear of baseless surveillance or arbitrary exclusion.

Key Points of Opposition:

1. Vague Surveillance Powers (Part 1):

   The Bill allows Police to record images and sounds for broad "intelligence purposes" whenever an officer thinks it "may" support a policing function. This is a "low bar" that lacks meaningful safeguards. In a free society, my presence in a public space—such as a beach or park—should not automatically make me a subject for a police database.

   
   

2. Beach and Reserve Closures (Part 2):

   Expanding "temporary closure" powers to include parks, reserves, and beaches is a significant overreach. These are essential public spaces. Giving individual officers the discretion to clear these areas based on "imminent" disorder—a subjective "term of art"—is open to abuse and could be used to unfairly target groups, including those practicing social nudity or peaceful assembly.

   
   

3. Inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Act:

   The Bill risks creating a "chilling effect" on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly guaranteed under the NZ Bill Of Rights Act 1990. Public safety should be balanced with compassion and the protection of civil liberties, not achieved through mass surveillance and the criminalization of presence in nature.

   
   

Recommendation:

I recommend that the Committee reject this Bill entirely. Parliament should instead focus on legislation that upholds transparency, protects privacy, and respects the constitutional role of public spaces in New Zealand life.

[Optional: I wish to appear before the Committee to speak to my submission.]

___________________________________________________________________________ Simply paste your submission (or write your own) on the Official Parliamentary Submissions Page.

Don't let them clear the beaches! The new Policing Bill gives a single constable the power to shut down your local park or beach on a whim. We have until Wednesday to say NO.