There's also this: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1998/0110/latest/DLM434636.html#DLM434636

As I see it the legislation impose a duty on the licensee to surrender a superseded licence.  It doesn't give an authority on the AA to retain them.

In my particular case it was no harm done in the end as it turned out I had my passport in Welly, so I was able to use that as PhotoID.

Dratsab:
Poor effort on behalf of the particular person you dealt with. Have a read through s30 Land Transport Act 1998. Subsections 1 and 4A are the parts most relevant to you.

To be fair to the person at the front desk, it is probably outside their pay scale. They would likely just be following the flowchat process. It is probably information their management though should provide to them, incase someone asks.

MikeAqua:

 

As I see it the legislation impose a duty on the licensee to surrender a superseded licence.  It doesn't give an authority on the AA to retain them.

 

In this case, your license is superseded by the temporary one,

24 Agency may issue temporary driver licences

(1) If an applicant for a driver licence meets the requirements for the issue of a licence of the class sought and the Agency is satisfied there will be some delay in issuing the licence, the Agency may issue to the person a temporary driver licence which—

(a) must be in such form and contain such details as may be specified in the rules; and (b) is valid for such period, not exceeding 21 days, as may be specified on the temporary licence.

(2) A temporary driver licence issued under this section has the same effect as a driver licence of the same class issued under section 23

mattwnz:

 

I have always wondered why they need to take the old one off you, for this very reason, as it causes inconvenience for no benefit. I told them I had lost my lifetime drivers license, but found it, so still have my old lifetime one even though now invalid due to legislation.

 

As a high school teacher I know exactly why you have to hand it over.  The number of my students that have used older sister's ids, while not surprising, is considerable.  If they didn't have to hand them over the whole driver's licence as id would fall over.  

blackjack17:

 

The whole driver's licence as id would fall over.  

 

Drivers licenses as ID is not supposed to exist in the first place, when photo licenses were introduced politicians and bureaucrats swore black and blue that it would not be used as a defacto national ID card..

MikeAqua:

 

As I see it the legislation impose a duty on the licensee to surrender a superseded licence.  It doesn't give an authority on the AA to retain them.

 

But I still won't give it to them.

wellygary:

 

Drivers licenses as ID is not supposed to exist in the first place, when photo licenses were introduced politicians and bureaucrats swore black and blue that it would not be used as a defacto national ID card..

 

Yes, I refuse to allow it to be used as defacto photo ID when asked.

wellygary:

 

In this case, your license is superseded by the temporary one,

 

24 Agency may issue temporary driver licences

 

(1) If an applicant for a driver licence meets the requirements for the issue of a licence of the class sought and the Agency is satisfied there will be some delay in issuing the licence, the Agency may issue to the person a temporary driver licence which—

 

(a) must be in such form and contain such details as may be specified in the rules; and (b) is valid for such period, not exceeding 21 days, as may be specified on the temporary licence.

 

(2) A temporary driver licence issued under this section has the same effect as a driver licence of the same class issued under section 23

 

I understood that but it doesn't require immediate surrender of the superseded licence.  And the old licence is still useful as photoID until it expires.

@cadman that section still doesn't give the AA any power to retain the old licence, it imposes an obligation on the holder of the superseded licence to surrender it.  That obligation isn't even stipulated as an immediate obligation - as it is in other circumstance set out in the section you quoted.

I'm guessing the AA is 'a person appointed by the agency' so one could comply with the surrender obligation by giving it to them.