Submission: Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill

The Council calls for the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People's Commission Bill to be withdrawn. The Council doubts the effectiveness of the bill's core measures and opposes restrictions on freedom of information, freedom of expression, and our right to justice. Keep reading “Submission: Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill”

Submission: Data & Statistics Bill

The Council opposes the Data and Statistics Bill, which gives more power to the state, and takes it from the public. The bill increases government collection, use and sharing amongst itself of information about us, while weakening our rights both to privacy and to access information held by government agencies. Keep reading “Submission: Data & Statistics Bill”

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”

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”