NZ Council for Civil Liberties

Media release: Papers please!

“The majority of New Zealanders should be reeling after the quick succession of announcements by the government this week,” said Thomas Beagle, chair of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties (NZCCL), in reference to the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill, the Policing Amendment Bill, and Friday’s announcement of the Govt.nz App.

“We really are heading into a ‘Papers Please!’ state,” continued Beagle, “one in which we all need to be stamped and approved to be part of society.”

The Immigration Bill will allow for people, including NZ citizens, to be detained until they can prove they have a right to be here. “Everyone who looks like they may be ‘foreign’ will have to carry forms of ID to prove they have the right to be in the country. We’re sure we won’t see police and immigration officials stopping white businessmen in suits strolling along Queen Street, rather it will be a racist tool of harassment.” – Beagle.

He added, “It’s worrying that while everyone else has looked aghast at the ICE raids in the USA, the New Zealand government has decided that immigration and police officers need greater powers to enable them to do the same.”

The second announcement, the Policing Amendment Bill, greatly expands police powers of both surveillance and exclusion. Firstly it allows police to record audio and video from anywhere they are, secondly it greatly expands the areas police can evict people from.

“After this bill police will have greatly expanded powers to conduct in person surveillance of anyone, in public or in private, without a warrant,” said Thomas. “Tools which can hear the faintest conversations through windows exist, as do cameras which can see in the dark or through walls. This bill enables police to deploy these for nearly any reason including intelligence gathering, without sufficient cause or oversight, thus depriving people of their privacy.”

The exclusion changes expand on the already excessive powers for police to break up gatherings and order people on, now applying it to include any area accessible by a motor vehicle, an area also known as most of New Zealand. Reasons for the exercise of this power  include “public disorder is imminent”, “danger to the public may reasonably be expected”, or “a group of two or more people …may reasonably be expected to cause noise that … is excessive”.

As Beagle puts it. “This bill means that police will practically be able to break up any gathering, remove people from any location, and detain people on suspicion that they might return. These locations include everywhere accessible by road including every home, Marae, school, or church, as well as undoubtedly any place used for political protest.”

Finally, there was the announcement by the Digitising Government and Public Service Minister Judith Collins on Friday that the Govt.nz App is on its way. Hospitality NZ will be the first accredited digital credential then next will be drivers’ licenses. Judith Collins states that it will be voluntary and existing channels will remain available. “But for how long?” asked Thomas. “And what is voluntary? Real Me is not compulsory, but life without it can be more difficult.”

We note that the Immigration Bill supports the use of digital credentials and forcing people to carry proof of their right to live in New Zealand may be one of the drivers to force adoption.

“Both the Immigration and Policing Amendment Bills are not compatible with living in a democratic society,” said Thomas, “And combined with the announcement of Digital ID we are stumbling our way into a totalitarian society where at every turn an official will be demanding ‘Papers Please!’ before deciding whether people are allowed to participate in society.”

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