Privacy is a fundamental human right that needs to be respected in a modern democracy.
It is for this reason that I welcome the Government's move to extend privacy legislation to the private sector. It is timely that the Government has introduced legislation into parliament for debate, particularly given the rapid growth in new technologies. Privacy law is needed to ensure all consumers can confidently take maximum advantage of the information economy while allowing them to protect their privacy with minimum inconvenience. Given the pressures technology is placing on individual privacy, I believe that the new scheme should have very broad coverage. However, individual privacy rights must always be balanced with the needs of organisations to conduct their legitimate activities.