Blogger No Right Turn has two useful articles about strengthening the Bill of Rights Act.

The first comments on Green MP Keith Locke's private member's bill that aims to entrench the Bill of Rights and force Parliament to justify deliberate breaches of the Act. The second talks about the Canadian option where the government can pass laws breaching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but then has to re-pass them every five years.

The Official Information Act is an important facet of New Zealand's democracy. By making all government information available on request, unless there is a reason for it to be withheld, it allows citizens to hold their government to account. However, to be effective, it requires the ministers and government departments to honour their roles in releasing information willingly and in a timely manner.  

Blogger No Right Turn has been collecting OIA performance data from the ministers, with results ranging from Chris Finlayson's 100% on-time record to Gerry Brownlee's dismal 39% with only a few scoring above 90%. Sadly the results show that ministers are failing to honour their obligations under the Official Information Act. 

A brief account of the public lectures from Sir Kenneth Keith and Rayhan Langdana on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the passing of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

The 20th anniversary of New Zealand’s Bill of Rights is being celebrated at Victoria University’s Centre for Public Law on August 26.

Sir Geoffrey Palmer, former Prime Minister and architect of the Bill of Rights, is giving a public lecture about his aspirations for the legislation at its inception.

What's involved with making a submission to a Select Committee?

Thomas Beagle accompanied Kevin McCormack to support him in making the Council's submission about the Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill.

Read about it.

A report on a talk from Jonathan Penney, Cyberlaw Fellow at Victoria University, about the connection between internet access and s14 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights.

The article from the DomPost (also in Stuff) starts with:

Schools have been told they can now search pupils for weapons and drugs without fearing legal action.

This is incorrect and the quoted advice from the Secondary Principals' Association's lawer does not indicate this at all. Rather it says that teachers can ask pupils to empty their pockets or open their bag/locker. If the pupil refuses to do so, the only option is to call their parents/guardian and ask them to come in.

There is no right for the teachers to force students to be searched and the Secondary Principals' Association's legal advice does not indicate that there is.

The latest edition of Tim McBride's classic New Zealand Civil Rights Handbook has just been released.

The Wellington City Council has dropped plans to impose a city-wide liquor ban after strong public opposition. The current ban on consuming or carrying liquor has been extended from the inner city to Newtown and Mt Cook.

The NZCCL made a submission on the issue as did 603 others, with 76% of submissions opposing the ban.

How much do you publish about yourself online?  What can people find out about you by looking at your photos?

Tech Liberty writes an article about how improving technology can mean that data that was safe to share in the past can now reveal more than you expect.