Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$10
$2
per week
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Or
NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

A million names still on database

23 Apr, 2001 01:12 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Names and addresses of almost everyone who paid their broadcasting fee are being stored in a huge database even though the fee has been scrapped.

Two years after the Government announced that the television licence would no longer be collected, NZ On Air still keeps hold of information
dating back more than a decade.

With over one million records, it is one of the largest databases in the country.

NZ On Air says it has kept the files for tax purposes and because they would be too expensive to purge.

However, campaigners who attempted to bring the fee down through a court challenge fear that NZ On Air has retained the database in case the Government decides to revive the broadcasting licences.

"I think they have a sort of secret hope that the fee will be brought back," said Ned Haliburton, a spokesman for the group that fought the fee.

"The other thing is that this database is an asset that can be sold to someone else."

NZ On Air said yesterday that although organisations had expressed an interest in accessing the database, this had been ruled out.

"Our focus is basically on winding up the operations of the broadcasting fee," said Selwyn Crane, the general manager of revenue.

"We're not interested in trying to find a way to make a quick buck on data.

"We've got an obligation for financial reasons to keep track of people's accounts that have been paid," said Mr Crane.

"It's no different from any other financial transaction.

"If we were to try to destroy [the files of] those people who had paid there would be considerable cost," he said.

The database records the names, addresses and accounting information of 1,026,000 people.

This includes more than 100,000 people who still owe money.

Although NZ On Air kept track of people who had unpaid balances, it did not refresh the details of those who had settled their accounts in full.

The database has been contracted to a subsidiary of NZ Post, Datamail.

Mr Crane said confidentiality clauses meant that the information could not be used by anyone other than NZ On Air.

He was not certain when the database would no longer be used.

"From a GST and revenue point of view, records have to be kept for five years.

"We still get a lot of people ringing up wanting to know why they haven't received a bill, too, and wanting to know if they are paid up."

Access to the electronic files would be blocked some time in the future.

"There would be a point when probably it won't become accessible because of costs," said Mr Crane.

One of the principles of the Privacy Act says that agencies should not hold personal information for longer than was required for the purposes for which the information could be lawfully used.

Privacy Commissioner Bruce Slane said there were probably reasons why NZ On Air needed to keep the information.

"They might lawfully use it to check back whether someone has overpaid, for instance."

The National-led Government said in May 1999 that it would axe the $110 public broadcasting fee from last July.

Herald Online feature: Privacy

Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$10
$2
per week
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Or
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Politics
|Updated

NCEA changes: Emails show Labour shunned offers for briefings ahead of scrapping

Premium
New Zealand

Hospitality riding the winter storm: 'People just haven’t got the expendable dollar'

New Zealand

Weightlifter bench presses more than double his weight, sets NZ record


Sponsored

Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

NCEA changes: Emails show Labour shunned offers for briefings ahead of scrapping
Politics

NCEA changes: Emails show Labour shunned offers for briefings ahead of scrapping

Kremlin says Trump-Putin meeting agreed for ‘coming days’
World

Kremlin says Trump-Putin meeting agreed for ‘coming days’

Netanyahu seeks full control of Gaza amid mounting pressure
World

Netanyahu seeks full control of Gaza amid mounting pressure

For $5, this man will draw a terrible portrait of you
World

For $5, this man will draw a terrible portrait of you

Weightlifter bench presses more than double his weight, sets NZ record
Hawkes Bay Today

Weightlifter bench presses more than double his weight, sets NZ record

Historical church near Whanganui to be deconsecrated
Whanganui Chronicle

Historical church near Whanganui to be deconsecrated



Latest from New Zealand

NCEA changes: Emails show Labour shunned offers for briefings ahead of scrapping
Politics
|Updated

NCEA changes: Emails show Labour shunned offers for briefings ahead of scrapping

Labour only contacted minister a little over a week before the changes were announced.

07 Aug 06:19 PM
Premium
Premium
Hospitality riding the winter storm: 'People just haven’t got the expendable dollar'
New Zealand

Hospitality riding the winter storm: 'People just haven’t got the expendable dollar'

07 Aug 06:00 PM
Weightlifter bench presses more than double his weight, sets NZ record
New Zealand

Weightlifter bench presses more than double his weight, sets NZ record

07 Aug 06:00 PM


Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’
Sponsored

Revealed: The night driving ‘red flag’

04 Aug 11:37 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$10
$2
per week
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Or
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search