Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill – Submission Guide 

Support Green MP Kahurangi Carter’s Member’s Bill!  

New Zealanders love to have a good laugh - to use comedy, parody and satire to express ourselves. In Aotearoa, outdated copyright laws make it harder for us to do that.  

Under the Copyright Act 1994, New Zealanders could face legal action for using existing content for the purpose of parody or satire. This includes things like:  

• making a parody version of a pop song, 

• recreating a version of your favourite meme, 

• basing a comedy skit off an existing film franchise.  

Kahurangi’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill aims to change this, protecting the use of parody and satire within New Zealand copyright law. This small law change would align Aotearoa New Zealand with other places like Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe.  

The Bill has received support across the House at first reading and is now awaiting submissions at Select Committee.  

Now, we need your support. With the Bill at Select Committee Stage, it's your chance to make sure your voice is heard. 

Make a submission in support of this Bill to help change our copyright laws!  

Submissions close on Tuesday 19 May, 2026.  

Why is this important? 

Parody is generally understood as an imitation that may exaggerate for comic effect, while satire uses humour or irony to expose and criticise flaws in individuals, ideas or society.   

Being able to poke fun at politicians, or expose the irony in the pretensions of composers, artists and the like, is an important part of a functioning democracy, and supports free speech. 

But right now, artists, comedians and satirists, are vulnerable to legal threat when they use copyrighted works in their satire.  

We’ve heard from countless creatives (and even meme accounts!) that they have been threatened with legal action for creating the kind satirical work creators in other countries can do freely.  

We think this is out of step with the rest of the world, and unfair. 

What you might want to say in your submission: 

Tell the Select Committee that you support this Bill progressing. You may want to add: 

• That many liberal democracies around the world allow for the fair use of copyrighted materials for satire and parody; 

• That for those who want to distribute their work internationally, it is useful for our laws to be in line with the approach in major media markets; 

• That this law change would reduce Aotearoa’s artists, comics, and cultural commentators vulnerability to legal threat; 

• Any personal experience of being threatened with legal action for using copyrighted works for satire, parody, or a meme; 

• What safeguards you might want in place to protect taonga Māori, and; 

• Ideas to protect copyrighted works from being used by generative AI; 

Submit on the Bill by 19 May – let’s make memes legal!