David Harvey: Two Solicitors-General - two constitutional visions

Within the space of a couple of months, we have had the advantage of speeches from Una Jagose KC, the recently retired Solicitor-General, and Anna Adams KC, her successor in the role.

Jagose gave a reasonably relaxed speech in July 2026 at a breakfast organized by The Law Association and which was reported in LawNews. I wrote a critique of that speech which was also published in Law News.

David Harvey: The Limits Una Jagose KC Cannot Name

Why Parliament, Not the Courts, Must Prevail

When former Solicitor-General Una Jagose KC told a Law Association breakfast on 2 July 2026 that New Zealand risks “sleepwalking” towards a collapse of the separation of powers, she framed herself as the constitution’s anxious guardian. The framing deserves scrutiny.

Ele Ludemann: Who’s running this show?

David Farrar received an email alerting him to the Solicitor General’s new guidelines for prosecutions which started:

. . . “Research over many years has consistently found that Māori are significantly overrepresented in the criminal justice system at every stage, including as victims, and we recognised at the start of the project that the discretion to prosecute may contribute to that. The Guidelines expressly reference these disproportionate impacts and assist prosecutors by providing guidance about the matters to factor into their decisions. I am grateful to the kaitiaki and kaimahi of Ināia Tonu Nei for their wisdom, generosity and commitment. These Guidelines are much better for their input” says Ms Jagose.” . .