New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008

Official naming of geographic features was previously guided by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946 (repealed).

Following a review of this legislation and public consultation, the government decided to replace the 1946 Act with new legislation that modernises official place naming and the role of the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB). The new legislation is the New Zealand Geographic Board (Nga Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008.

In confirming the NZGB's powers, functions and duties, and extending our jurisdiction, the 2008 Act provides a framework for New Zealand’s official place naming into the 21st Century.

The 2008 Act repeals the 1946 legislation and came into force on 1 November 2008 (excluding sections 32 and 33 of the Act, which require agencies to use official place names in official documents).

What the Act does

The changes made in the 2008 Act ensure that our official place naming:

• extends to new areas under New Zealand’s sovereign control such as our continental shelf
• continues to reflect the culture and heritage of New Zealand’s communities, and
• supports the ongoing, every day need for consistent, correct identification of geographic features.

Main features

Extending the NZGB's role to undersea feature naming

The NZGB will now name undersea features within New Zealand’s continental shelf limits. In September 2008, the United Nations accepted New Zealand’s submission to the Continental Shelf Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). This confirmed our sovereign rights to more than 1.7 million square kilometres of seabed.

The continental shelf is now the subject of increasing research and exploration activity, and the NZGB's new role in naming its undersea features will play a crucial part in New Zealand’s effective management of the area’s undersea resources.

Formalising the NZGB's role in Antarctic place naming

The 2008 Act formalises the NZGB's long-standing role in place naming in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica.

Reviewing names for Crown protected areas

The 2008 Act provides the NZGB with a review and concurrence role for the names for Crown protected areas. This will help achieve consistency and standardisation for the features named by the NZGB, and the names for Crown protected areas, which are administered by the Department of Conservation.

Under the 2008 Act, members of the public now have similar opportunities to comment on proposed names for Crown protected areas to those they currently have for other place name proposals within New Zealand.

New Zealand Gazetteer of Official Geographic Names

From 1 November 2008, the NZGB publishes and maintains the online New Zealand Gazetteer of Official Geographic Names (or place names). Many thousands of names – official and unofficial – exist; an easily accessible gazetteer will help people and organisations identify the correct official name for New Zealand’s features and places.

Using official geographic names

The 2008 Act binds the Crown in requiring that official geographic names be used in official documents. Using correct official names in the publications and documents from government agencies contributes to the consistent use of correct names for New Zealand geographic features. (Please note: sections 32 and 33 of the Act, which govern this, have not yet come into force.)

Other features

The 2008 Act also:

• requires the NZGB to report annually to the Minister for Land Information

• simplifies and modernises the public notification requirements

• requires the NZGB to consult with relevant national and international naming authorities on names outside New Zealand’s territorial limits

• gives the NZGB additional powers to make final determinations on names where we uphold objections from members of the public

• provides for the alteration of district and region names of territorial authorities

• provides for recorded names to be reviewed and adopted as official or discontinued

• provides for the gazetting of official geographic names for Antarctica and Crown protected areas that have not been previously gazetted

• increases the NZGB’s membership by two, to represent the naming of suburbs and localities and undersea features

• provides for appointment of committees by the NZGB, and

• provides for the NZGB to delegate our powers and functions.

Read more in a comparison between the 2008 and 1946 Acts.

You can also read the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008 Factsheet (pdf 1.3MB).