Let’s Talk: facial recognition
How do you feel about the increasing use of facial recognition in public places? Should supermarkets be allowed to use … Keep reading “Let’s Talk: facial recognition”
Submission: Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill
This bill is an affront to our democracy. The autocratic measures at the heart of this bill are precisely the sort of executive overreach the Council was founded to prevent. The process for passing this legislation under urgency is a further affront to democracy. Keep reading “Submission: Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill”
Event 13 April – Strengthening Democracy through Open Government
As you will have seen from our work over the last couple of years, NZCCL has put considerable effort into … Keep reading “Event 13 April – Strengthening Democracy through Open Government”
Media release: Government passing Returning Offenders Bill under urgency tramples our rights
Tonight the government is using urgency to erode New Zealander’s right to justice. It’s passing the Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Amendment Bill through all three stages in one session, thus avoiding scrutiny and the democratic responsibility to consult on legislation. Keep reading “Media release: Government passing Returning Offenders Bill under urgency tramples our rights”
Submission: Local Government Official Information and Meetings (Amendment) Bill
The full text of our submission to the Governance and Administration Select Committee, opposing the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Bill unless amended. Keep reading “Submission: Local Government Official Information and Meetings (Amendment) Bill”
Submission: Inspector-General of Defence Bill
The full text of our submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee recommending substantial amendments to the Inspector-General of Defence Bill. Keep reading “Submission: Inspector-General of Defence Bill”
Submission: Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill
The full text of our submission to the Justice Select Committee opposing the Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill. Keep reading “Submission: Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill”
Meeting Dates in 2023
Our monthly committee meeting are open to anyone who wishes to attend.
A typical meeting includes:
- Updates on our major
Opposing the Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill
The first reading of the Bill to add religious belief to New Zealand’s hate speech laws in the Human Rights … Keep reading “Opposing the Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill”
Comments on Aotearoa’s 4th Open Government Partnership National Action Plan
The draft of Aotearoa's 4th Open Government Partnership National Action Plan is another disappointing piece of work stuffed with pre-planned work, aside from one commitment on equitable access to public services. Read the Council's submission. Keep reading “Comments on Aotearoa’s 4th Open Government Partnership National Action Plan”
Biometric technology
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner recently ran a consultation about the use of biometric technology in New Zealand. As … Keep reading “Biometric technology”
Media release: Open Government – Sham consultation on yet another weak plan
The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties today condemned the government for yet another in a series of weak National Action Plans produced as a member of the international Open Government Partnership (the OGP). Keep reading “Media release: Open Government – Sham consultation on yet another weak plan”
Submission: Independent Electoral Review
While great play is made of our Parliament being supreme in Aotearoa’s mostly un-entrenched constitutional arrangements, we believe it is weak, has too few members, is significantly under-resourced, does not function well, lacks independence, and is therefore dominated by the executive. We need to invest more in our Parliament to improve the quality and independence of its work, and thereby our democracy. Keep reading “Submission: Independent Electoral Review”
Submission: Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill
The concept of this process as a ‘civil action’ is no more than a convenient fiction to seize the assets of people who have not been convicted of any crime. Keep reading “Submission: Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill”
Submission – Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill
The Council fears that we could continue to surrender our liberties indefinitely and the Police will still claim to lack the tools to manage gangs. Keep reading “Submission – Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill”
Submission – National Security Strategy
The goal of National Security must be to secure our human rights. That primary goal can not be met by sacrificing those rights for tactical advantage toward secondary goals. Keep reading “Submission – National Security Strategy”
Submission: Review of Standing Orders 2023
Submitters have a common objective with Members – that the outcome of the scrutiny process should be thehighest quality legislation possible, even if this may sometimes mean recommending that the bill be withdrawn for redrafting or consultation. Our submission makes recommendations to improve the quality of select committee and parliamentary processes so as to try and avoid that second situation. Keep reading “Submission: Review of Standing Orders 2023”
Wellington City Council shuts down protest march with fees
We are very disturbed to hear that the Wellington City Council has shutdown a planned political protest march by proposing … Keep reading “Wellington City Council shuts down protest march with fees”
Apology from DPMC for OIA mismanagement
On August 26, 2022, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) apologized for their mismanagement of our 10 September 2021 request under the Official Information Act (OIA) about contact tracing. Keep reading “Apology from DPMC for OIA mismanagement”
Submission: Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill
The Council supports people's right to consume drugs for the purpose of pleasure or self-medication, whenever that consumption doesn’t directly interfere with the rights of others. Keep reading “Submission: Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill ”