Two weeks ago, the New Zealand Legislation website got a new look, with faster, simpler ways to find and view legislation. It’s really easy to use and search.

Try it out here: http://www.legislation.govt.nz

The website provides Acts, Bills, Supplementary Order Papers, and Statutory Regulations, and links to Deemed Regulations. It is owned and updated by the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

Some of the changes include:

• Quick search is available on every page
• Quick search provides suggestions as you type, plus you can access your recent searches
• Advanced search is more intuitive
• search and browse results are more flexible and easier to understand
• you can swap between views of legislation more easily
• information about amendment history is more accessible, under the Versions and amendments tab
• the homepage provides quick ways in to popular legislation and other resources
• if you get lost, there is plenty of help, with pop-up explanations and “how to” information.

By the way, that baby bird above is a kiwi born at the Smithsonian National Zoo whose name is Omana.  She is a milestone for the National Zoo, as for kiwi populations worldwide – currently, there are only 15 female and 33 male kiwi in zoos outside New Zealand. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers brown kiwi an endangered species.