Meeting Dates in 2025
Our monthly committee meeting are open to anyone who wishes to attend. Meetings take place between 6.00pm and 7:30pm via … Keep reading “Meeting Dates in 2025”
Articles
Articles
Privacy Commissioner’s Biometric Code fails to protect New Zealanders
Aotearoa New Zealand should follow the Australian example and ban the remote capture of biometric information. Keep reading “Privacy Commissioner’s Biometric Code fails to protect New Zealanders”
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”
Watch the Police/ANPR webinar
Watch James from the Police Tech Assurance team discuss and answer questions about the Police use of automated number plate recognition (ANPR) from our webinar held on October 22nd, 2024. Keep reading “Watch the Police/ANPR webinar”
Facing up to reality – New Zealand is failing on controlling facial recognition technology
Remote biometric identification is a new class of privacy threat and we're not doing enough to stop it being rolled out across the country. Keep reading “Facing up to reality – New Zealand is failing on controlling facial recognition technology”
Watch the Police and Facial Recognition webinar
Watch Andrew Chen from the Police Tech Assurance team discuss and answer questions about the Police use of facial recognition from our webinar held in July. Keep reading “Watch the Police and Facial Recognition webinar”
Douglas Ewen 1967 – 2024
Douglas Ewen KC, who died on 4 August, was a long-time member of the Council and served on its Executive Committee. Keep reading “Douglas Ewen 1967 – 2024”
Keith Locke 1944 – 2024
Prominent NZCCL member, MP, and activist Keith Locke has died at the age of 80. Keep reading “Keith Locke 1944 – 2024”
Watch the Physical Privacy in Prison webinar
Watch Anna Smart, the winner of the 2023 NZCCL VUW Law Essay Prize, present their work and answer questions at our webinar held in April. Keep reading “Watch the Physical Privacy in Prison webinar”
What the Royal Commission on Lessons from COVID-19 should consider
The Council has summarised its thoughts on civil liberties and the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are various lessons to be learned that are key to retaining public trust and confidence in times of crisis. Keep reading “What the Royal Commission on Lessons from COVID-19 should consider”
Essay prize winner announced!
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the NZ Council for Civil Liberties essay prize for 2023 is … Keep reading “Essay prize winner announced!”
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”
The Founding and Early History of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties
An interesting and informative history of the founding and early history of the NZ Council for Civil Liberties, presented as a talk by Lindsay Ferguson at our 2021 AGM. Keep reading “The Founding and Early History of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties”
Complacency on Open Government a risk to democracy – Helen Clark
Watch the video recording of the April 2023 event on open government with Sanjay Pradhan and Helen Clark from the Open Government Partnership, Helmut Modlik of Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, Andrew Ecclestone and Suzanne Snively. Keep reading “Complacency on Open Government a risk to democracy – Helen Clark”
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”
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”
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”
Chairperson’s Report 2022
It's been another year of the Exec Committee of the Council working well together. Keep reading “Chairperson’s Report 2022”
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”
The IPCA has had enough of being ignored
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has taken the opportunity to say that it needs substantially more powers to do its job of overseeing Police conduct. Keep reading “The IPCA has had enough of being ignored”