The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 was a New Zealand statute designed to assist reconstruction after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. It expired in April 2012. The Act permitted Government ministers to suspend or make exemptions to almost any New Zealand law by Orders in Council, transferring vast lawmaking power from the legislature to the government executive. It passed with unanimous support from all political parties in Parliament, although two of the smaller parties expressed concern over the wide powers it gave ministers. The Act attracted criticism from New Zealand and international academics specialising in constitutional law who claim that it lacks constitutional safeguards and has set a dangerous precedent for future natural disasters. The group of 27 legal a