NZ Council for Civil Liberties

Articles

Articles

Articles

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”
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Articles / Submissions

Briefing on the Data and Statistics Bill

The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties is opposed to the Data and Statistics Bill and wants it withdrawn. Once in a generation law reform, on a topic that needs all-party support to have credibility, should be developed collaboratively to ensure public confidence. Read our briefing to MPs ahead of the final stages of the Bill's passage through Parliament. Keep reading “Briefing on the Data and Statistics Bill”

Articles

Media release: Disappointment at Select Committee’s refusal to fix the Data and Statistics Bill

The deeply flawed Data and Statistics Bill has passed through the Governance and Administration Select Committee largely unchanged.  The Committee has fallen in line with the advice of Stats NZ and ignored the significant concerns raised by, amongst others, the Ombudsman, a former Government Statistician, and the NZ Council for Civil Liberties. Keep reading “Media release: Disappointment at Select Committee’s refusal to fix the Data and Statistics Bill”

Articles

Media release: Privacy Commissioner joins Ombudsman and former Government Statistician in criticising the Data and Statistics Bill

The NZ Council for Civil Liberties is pleased that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has reacted to public pressure and made a late submission highlighting problems with the Data and Statistics Bill. In doing so, the Privacy Commissioner joins the Ombudsman, and the former Government Statistician Len Cook, in highlighting serious flaws in the Bill. NZCCL and Mr Cook have both called for the entire Bill to be withdrawn, and the Ombudsman has called for part 5 of the Bill to be scrapped. Keep reading “Media release: Privacy Commissioner joins Ombudsman and former Government Statistician in criticising the Data and Statistics Bill”

Articles

Grant of Honorary Life Membership

The awarding of honorary life membership is a recognition of an individual’s support for civil liberties both through their own efforts and through their work with the Council. After a gap of some years we are pleased to award life memberships to three people who have all contributed generously of their time and effort to the cause of civil liberties in New Zealand. Keep reading “Grant of Honorary Life Membership”

Articles

Vaccine mandates and certificates vs our liberties and rights

From a civil liberties perspective, there’s a big difference between encouraging people to get vaccinated, and the state mandating that people have to do so in order to keep their jobs. In this article we first talk about some of the ethical frameworks that can be used to analyse the choices that need to be made. Then we look at the human rights issues - how the requirements will interact with the Bill of Rights Act and the Human Rights Act, as well as the privacy issues. Keep reading “Vaccine mandates and certificates vs our liberties and rights”