Meeting Dates in 2024
Our monthly committee meeting are open to anyone who wishes to attend.
A typical meeting includes:
- Updates on our major
Steven Ensslen
Submission: Public safety and serious offenders: a review of preventive detention and post-sentence orders
The Council opposes preventative detention and post-sentence orders in principle. The Council reluctantly acknowledges that the rest of our systems are in such an unsatisfactory state that we can not recommend abolishing preventative detention at this time. There are small numbers of people who are dangers to themselves and others who are currently managed though preventative detention. Keep reading “Submission: Public safety and serious offenders: a review of preventive detention and post-sentence orders”
Submission:Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill
Seeking refuge is a human right. This bill discriminates against asylum seekers who associate with one another. It is unconscionable to imprison people seeking refuge for nothing more than associating with other people with similar needs. The Council calls for the Committee to reject this bill. Keep reading “Submission:Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill”
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”
Meeting Dates in 2023
Our monthly committee meeting are open to anyone who wishes to attend.
A typical meeting includes:
- Updates on our major
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”
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 ”
Outcome: Civil Aviation Bill
Despite not mentioning our concerns, the Committee has substantially amended clause 456 to address the concern which we, and others, raised. Keep reading “Outcome: Civil Aviation Bill”
Submission: Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill
The Council calls for the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People's Commission Bill to be withdrawn. The Council doubts the effectiveness of the bill's core measures and opposes restrictions on freedom of information, freedom of expression, and our right to justice. Keep reading “Submission: Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill”
Submission: Civil Aviation Bill
The Council opposes the secrecy provisions in the Bill, clauses 199 and 456, as unjustifiable limitations of our right to information and our freedom to impart that information to others, and recommends they be removed from the Bill. Keep reading “Submission: Civil Aviation Bill”
Our Feedback on Algorithm Governance
There has been no progress worth noting towards objective 8, Review of government algorithms. From the lack of visible results we conclude algorithm governance is neither being funded nor prioritised sufficiently for success to be probable. Keep reading “Our Feedback on Algorithm Governance”
Dates of Meetings in 2022
Our monthly committee meeting are open to anyone who wishes to attend, either in-person or online.
A typical meeting includes:… Keep reading “Dates of Meetings in 2022”
Submission on DIA Long Term Insights Briefing on Participatory Democracy
The Council believes the ability to participate in the decision-making of central and local government is a fundamental part of our democratic systems. Keep reading “Submission on DIA Long Term Insights Briefing on Participatory Democracy”
Outcome of Maritime Powers Bill
Select Committee made a minor adjustment in response to our submission, was split on one of our concerns, and failed to mention the third. Keep reading “Outcome of Maritime Powers Bill”
Submission: Police Tactical Response Model
The Council believes as a matter of principle that the Justice system should aim to minimize its impact on people. Instead of adding armed police to our streets, we should be adding mental health workers and other harm reducing interventions. Keep reading “Submission: Police Tactical Response Model”