NZ Council for Civil Liberties

thomas@nzccl.org.nz

Blog Posts

Guest post ‘Thematic Review: The Policing of public protests in New Zealand’: A Critical Response

Guest post discussing the significant issues with the IPCA's report ‘Thematic Review: The Policing of public protests in New Zealand’ which recommends changes to legislation and policing around public protests in Aotearoa. Keep reading “Guest post ‘Thematic Review: The Policing of public protests in New Zealand’: A Critical Response”

News

We reject IPCA call for government to issue protest permits

The right to protest is protected by the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. And this is why it's so disturbing to see the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) publish a report saying that people should have to apply to the government for permission before protesting. Keep reading “We reject IPCA call for government to issue protest permits”

Articles

Chairperson’s Report 2024

It seems that authoritarianism and fascism are on the rise, with war and the oppression of civilian populations quick to follow. This possibility is exactly one of the reasons why we push back against the excesses of the state. Not only is government power against the individual prone to being misused, but its use reinforces the attitude that force is the answer to everything. Civil liberties and the protections of the NZ Bill of Rights Act are vital to maintaining a proper balance of power between the state and the people. Keep reading “Chairperson’s Report 2024”

Events

22nd Oct 2024 – Webinar: Automated number plate recognition and the NZ Police

Automated number plate recognition (ANPR) has been around for a while now used by police, traffic management, and parking systems. But how is it actually used by the police? What are the issues with building up a large database of vehicle movements? Should the police be able to access ANPR data captured by others? Keep reading “22nd Oct 2024 – Webinar: Automated number plate recognition and the NZ Police”

Articles

Chairperson’s Report 2023

2023 was of course an election year, and it was an election campaign that civil liberties issues did not feature in much. However it seems that we now have a new government that has made a number of promises around changes to law enforcement, many of which have implications for both justice and civil liberties. Keep reading “Chairperson’s Report 2023”