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!”
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”
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”
Media release: Last chance to fix the Data and Statistics Bill
With the overreaching Data and Statistics Bill going to the Committee of the Whole House this week, the NZ Council for Civil Liberties has written to MPs asking them to pass amendments to fix the worst aspects. Keep reading “Media release: Last chance to fix the Data and Statistics Bill”
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”
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”
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”
What’s wrong with the Data & Statistics Bill?
Why does Aotearoa New Zealand want to replace our Statistics Act with a new law that greatly extends the power of the Government Statistician to collect, aggregate, and share data, all the while reducing oversight and ignoring any possible downsides? Keep reading “What’s wrong with the Data & Statistics Bill?”
Open Government – Briefing to Minister Hipkins, part two: Proactive Disclosure
Part two of a briefing to the Minister for Public Services, who is responsible for the country's membership of the Open Government Partnership. This part deals with the opportunity to strengthen proactive publication. Keep reading “Open Government – Briefing to Minister Hipkins, part two: Proactive Disclosure”
Open Government – Briefing to Minister Hipkins, part one: Secrecy Clauses
Part one of a briefing to the Minister for Public Services, who is responsible for the country's membership of the Open Government Partnership. This part deals with the problem of secrecy clauses in legislation. Keep reading “Open Government – Briefing to Minister Hipkins, part one: Secrecy Clauses”
Media release: Disgraceful government secrecy on vaccination certificates as legislation rushed through
On the eve of legislation to enable vaccination passes being rushed through Parliament under urgency, the Minister has said it … Keep reading “Media release: Disgraceful government secrecy on vaccination certificates as legislation rushed through”
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”
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”