Rules on rego privacy to be tightened

You may not be aware of it but those number plates on your motor vehicle allow others to gather some specific details about you - and without your knowledge.
At the moment a small fee and a registration number are all that is needed to gain access to the NZ Transport Agency's motor vehicle register.
But from April 1 next year, the law is being tightened to better protect that personal information.
Motor vehicle owners concerned about others getting access to their names and private addresses can go to the NZTA website and revoke this access now, but it will not become effective until April 1, 2011. You will need to have your NZ driver's licence and a note of your vehicle's registration plate number.
The change means that from April details on the register will only be available for the purposes of law enforcement, maintenance of the country's security, collection of charges imposed or authorised by legislation, and the administration of transport law and policy.
It will also mean that anyone trying to get names and addresses held on the register outside of those purposes will have to make an Official Information Act request to the agency.
While this information is available now, NZTA says there is no restriction on how this information can be used.
There is provision for an owner to request a confidential listing where there is a threat to their personal safety and security, but the agency says the criteria for a confidential listing was high "and the threat to your personal safety and security needs to be a real threat rather than a perceived threat".
And a confidential listing will not be granted simply because someone does not wish their name and address to be available publicly.
The provisions regarding the release of the personal information from the register override the provisions governing the release of personal information in the Official Information Act 1982, as well as the information privacy principles contained in the Privacy Act 1993.
The motor vehicle register is also used for "information matching programmes" and Parliament has approved two circumstances where this is allowed - checking unenrolled voters and tracking the sales of motor vehicles.