The Council condemns this bill in the strongest terms. The word for Police interactions “without having reasonable grounds to suspect that any offence has been, is being, or will be committed” is harassment. Keep reading “Submission: Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill”
The Attorney General has decided that this bill can not be justified in a free and democratic society. That’s a serious condemnation from a trusted source. The Council urges the committee to kill this bill. Keep reading “Ram Raids Bill Oral Submission”
We oppose this bill because expanding criminal responsibility and the associated search and forced body sample regime to 12-13 year olds is unjust and a breach of international justice standards. Keep reading “Submission: Ram Raid Offending and Related Measures Amendment Bill”
While disappointed it's not for national elections as well, we support the Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill to lower the voting age for local body elections to 16. Keep reading “Submission: Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill”
The Council is worried about the widespread use of biometrics for surveillance, tracking, and invading people’s privacy. We further believe that the unconstrained use of biometric technology is a threat to our freedoms and civil liberties. Keep reading “Response to Privacy Commission’s 2023 Biometrics Discussion Paper”
The Corrections Amendment Bill sets new rules around the use of non-lethal weapons in prisons, updates the methods used for the interception of prisoner communications, and allows for the mixing of remand and convicted prisoners in some situations. Keep reading “Submission: Corrections Amendment Bill”
Read our response to the DIA's content regulation review. Keep reading “Submission: Content Regulation review”
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”
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”
The bill requires the Minister to appoint a 'collection agency' to collect and distribute royalties on the re-sale of visual works of art. But the bill does not make this body subject to the OIA, Ombudsmen Act, Public Audit Act or Public Records Act. We recommend this is fixed. Keep reading “Submission: Resale Right for Visual Artists 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”
The full text of our submission to the Governance and Administration Select Committee, opposing the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Bill unless amended. Keep reading “Submission: Local Government Official Information and Meetings (Amendment) Bill”
The full text of our submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee recommending substantial amendments to the Inspector-General of Defence Bill. Keep reading “Submission: Inspector-General of Defence Bill”
The full text of our submission to the Justice Select Committee opposing the Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill. Keep reading “Submission: Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill”
The draft of Aotearoa's 4th Open Government Partnership National Action Plan is another disappointing piece of work stuffed with pre-planned work, aside from one commitment on equitable access to public services. Read the Council's submission. Keep reading “Comments on Aotearoa’s 4th Open Government Partnership National Action Plan”
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”
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”
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”
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”