Toitū Te Whenua |
Land Information New Zealand

Document

Certification of Land Description dated 9 May 2024 for the Auckland Harbour Board and Takapuna Borough Council Empowering Act Amendment Bill

Why the member of the public nominated this entry

The member of the public who nominated this document described it as ‘sloppy’ and ‘incoherent’. They felt that had it been written in plain language, officials and members of the Select Committee would have been better able to identify and address the relevant issues.

What the judges said

Judges recognise the challenge of dealing with heavily legal language. However, the judges found this document a classic example of a ‘brainstrain’ communication, noting that ‘its main purpose is buried deep within the appendix, rather than being stated clearly at the beginning’ and ‘its key recommendation to change how the land is described is obscured by excessive historical detail’.

Judges also commented that the writing style and bureaucratic and intimidating tone creates major barriers for the reader, with essential information being lost in technical complexity. ‘As a result, it fails to make public information useful and accessible to people interested in the bill.’

Media statement

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is pleased to support the Plain Language Awards and recognises its leadership and long-standing relationship with promoters of plain language.

We published a legal description of a particular piece of land on our website at the request of a member of the public. This type of document is usually only seen by legal experts.
This document has been recognised in the Awards today.

We acknowledge the feedback about the complex and technical language in this document, which closely follows the language of the relevant Act of Parliament.

LINZ Head of Public Affairs and Customer Experience, Nic Chrisp says “We recognise this kind of language is hard to understand for many people.”

“We’re committed to making our documents clearer and we’ll keep working on finding the right balance between being accurate and being easy to read.”

“We will continue to actively promote plain language across our organisation and heartily congratulate all winners of this year’s Plain Language Awards.”

Media enquiries:
Email media@linz.govt.nz or phone 027 566 5251

Thanks to LINZ for their thoughtful response and commitment to making documents of this type clearer.