Wednesday, 29 November 2023
KaitaiaWhangareiDargavilleAucklandThamesTaurangaHamiltonWhakataneRotoruaTokoroaTe KuitiTaumarunuiTaupoGisborneNew PlymouthNapierHastingsDannevirkeWhanganuiPalmerston NorthLevinParaparaumuMastertonWellingtonMotuekaNelsonBlenheimWestportReeftonKaikouraGreymouthHokitikaChristchurchAshburtonTimaruWanakaOamaruQueenstownDunedinGoreInvercargill
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDRIVEN Car GuideThe CountryPhoto SalesiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub
Voyager 2023 media awards
Subscribe

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand / Politics

Gehan Gunasekara: MP's bill step in the right direction

Other
By Gehan Gunasekara
19 May, 2013 05:30 PM4 mins to read
Saveshare

Share this article

facebookcopy linktwitterlinkedinredditemail
Leaks this year include those from ACC, Winz, IRD and EQC. Photo / Supplied

Leaks this year include those from ACC, Winz, IRD and EQC. Photo / Supplied

Gehan Gunasekara argues that much time and effort spent on reviewing privacy law is being squandered.

At the Privacy Forum held in Wellington last year, Justice Minister Judith Collins promised that a new Privacy Bill would be introduced in May this year to replace the now 20-year-old Privacy Act 1993. There is as yet no sign of its introduction. The promise was made following the completion, in 2011, of an exhaustive review of privacy law undertaken by the Law Commission spanning several years.

Opposition MP Sue Moroney's Privacy Amendment Bill, drawn from the member's ballot at Parliament last week, is therefore bound to set the cat among the pigeons. The bill would enact many of the Law Commission's recommendations by strengthening the powers of the Privacy Commissioner by empowering her office to issue compliance notices and conduct privacy audits of public and private sector agencies where this is warranted.

The current complaints-driven process has been criticised as it fails to address systemic privacy breaches not exposed by individual complaints while other breaches escape detection and investigation altogether. The risks to individuals of inappropriate use and disclosure of their personal information and of identity theft are compounded as a consequence.

There have been privacy breaches galore in the past year. These have included leaks by ACC, Winz, IRD and the EQC (the latter exacerbated by ongoing complaints from Christchurch residents regarding the withholding of information relating to their claims by EQC). Each has generally resulted in inquiries and loss of confidence by the public in the integrity of public service organisations' information handling procedures.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Although many of the breaches are undoubtedly a byproduct of the proliferation of information technologies there is nevertheless evidence that some of the problems are systemic in nature, thereby highlighting the need for systemic and co-ordinated scrutiny as recommended by the Law Commission, as opposed to ad-hoc inquiry.

Recent privacy lapses have all occurred within government agencies. However, business cannot afford to be complacent. Opinion polls conducted by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner have consistently indicated a large majority of New Zealanders are concerned about how their personal information is managed by business.

A research study conducted over the summer at the University of Auckland surveyed the degree to which listed companies in New Zealand acknowledged compliance with privacy norms in their governance documents. The results found, somewhat disturbingly, that Australian companies listed here significantly outperformed New Zealand ones in this respect. This is likely to pay off in a competitive advantage for them where customers are concerned.

The 1993 act was world-leading when it was enacted. However, its much-vaunted technological neutrality did not anticipate the development of the internet, web 2.0 and modern phenomena such as use of the Cloud.

The Law Commission's report addresses several current mischiefs, such as cyber-bullying and application of the news media exemption from the Privacy Act to blogs. Especially pertinent is abuse, by individuals, of the so-called "personal use" exemption which has allowed the posting online of much objectionable material about individuals. These matters are in urgent need of attention.

Thus far the only significant amendment to the Privacy Act is adoption of the information-sharing bill through adoption of a new part 9A in the act. This facilitates information sharing between government agencies and the private sector. It arguably weakens individuals' privacy as compensating safeguards recommended by the Law Commission, such as the power to audit agencies' privacy practices, have been omitted. The Law Commission's recommendations ought to be seen as part of a coherent package.

Related articles

New Zealand

NZ at Noon: Cat fights and elderly scam victims

19 Apr 12:00 AM
New Zealand|Politics

Leak case: fight for secrecy

01 May 05:30 PM
World

Scandals crowd in on Obama as 'secondterm-itis' strikes

15 May 05:30 PM
Business

The Insider: Talk ain't cheap

16 May 05:30 PM

Sue Moroney's bill puts balance back into privacy law. It is to be hoped the Government will embark on more comprehensive reform of its own. Our privacy is just too important to be used as a political football.

Gehan Gunasekara is an associate professor in commercial law at the University of Auckland and advised the Law Commission in its review of the Privacy Act.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
Saveshare

Share this article

facebookcopy linktwitterlinkedinredditemail

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'You are making it up': Girl accused of lying in sexual abuse case

28 Nov 08:28 PM
New Zealand

Car rolls over in Whanganui East

28 Nov 08:24 PM
New ZealandUpdated

Pair deny murdering Ellerslie husband and wife

28 Nov 08:17 PM
New ZealandUpdated

Waipa District Council boss to retire after nearly 45 years

28 Nov 08:00 PM

Top toys of 2023 for kids & ‘kidults’

sponsored

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'You are making it up': Girl accused of lying in sexual abuse case

'You are making it up': Girl accused of lying in sexual abuse case

28 Nov 08:28 PM

A man faces trial this week after he was accused of abusing his two stepdaughters.

Car rolls over in Whanganui East

Car rolls over in Whanganui East

28 Nov 08:24 PM
Pair deny murdering Ellerslie husband and wife

Pair deny murdering Ellerslie husband and wife

28 Nov 08:17 PM
Waipa District Council boss to retire after nearly 45 years

Waipa District Council boss to retire after nearly 45 years

28 Nov 08:00 PM
Toy trends for Christmas
sponsored

Toy trends for Christmas

About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsSubscribe to NZ HeraldHouse Rules
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2023 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP