Tremain Chris: Electronic Identity Verification Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Tremain Chris: Electronic Identity Verification Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 29 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4959. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CHRIS TREMAIN (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
: 
 I move  
That the Electronic Identity Verification Bill be now read a second time 
. Firstly I would like to thank the Hon Nathan Guy for introducing the Electronic Identity Verification Bill when he was the Minister of Internal Affairs. Can I also acknowledge the Government Administration Committee led by Ruth Dyson for its work on this particular bill. This is one of two important bills before the House today that support one of the Government’s key priorities. Our priorities as a Government as you will all be aware are firstly to responsibly manage the Government’s finances; secondly to build a more productive and competitive economy; thirdly to rebuild Christchurch; and fourthly to provide better public services. 
This bill and the Identity Information Confirmation Bill go to the heart of Better Public Services. The Government is striving to achieve better services within tight financial constraints. To do this we have set 10 key result targets. One of these for which the Department of Internal Affairs is responsible is to enable New Zealanders to transact with Government easily in an online environment— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: It’s not the time for this sort of speech. If you’re going to have stuff by leave you’re not going to make speeches like this again. 
Hon CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Just for the member across the House I would just like to point out again that this bill enables New Zealanders to transact with Government easily in an online environment. These two bills enable Government departments businesses and other agencies to easily confirm the identity of the people they transact with. This will speed up transactions and reduce paperwork enabling individuals to obtain services more quickly and easily. The two bills are similar but different and later this morning we will consider the Identity Information Confirmation Bill which establishes the igovt identity service. 
The Electronic Identity Verification Bill regulates the igovt identity verification service. This service enables individuals to prove who they are online. Individuals prove who they are once when applying to use the service. Those individuals can then use the service to prove who they are to other agencies that are authorised to use the service. The bill supports the wide use of this service to better enable agencies to check individuals’ identity. Most important it does so in a manner that protects and enhances New Zealand’s ability to control how information is used. As I have said this bill is at the heart of the Government’s reforms to achieve Better Public Services. In particular it supports Better Public Services result area 10: that New Zealanders can complete their transactions with Government easily in a digital environment. 
The service makes it easier for New Zealanders to complete their transactions with Government as I have said online and at a lower cost. The bill enables both Government and the private sector agencies to use the service to reduce their investment and processing costs. Individuals find the service convenient as it will reduce the amount of paperwork and supporting identity documents they must provide when dealing with Government and importantly with businesses. Result area 10 is based around a number of key transactions such as applying for motor vehicle licences or renewing a passport. We are aiming to have 70 percent of these commonly used transactions completed online in a digital environment by 2017. The igovt service will contribute significantly to this by streamlining processes for online log-ins when people access services online. By making it easier for people to access online services we will encourage uptake and get closer to that 70 percent mark. 
As I have said the bill is similar to but different from another bill that we have coming forward this afternoon. Both bills also ensure that individuals remain in control of their information. People have the choice to join the igovt service and to use it. One of the principles of this bill stresses that agencies using this service should where practicable maintain alternative means for individuals to interact with them. This protects both individuals who cannot or do not wish to use the services for various reasons. Submissions to the Government Administration Committee led by the Hon Ruth Dyson strongly supported the opt-in nature of this service as a safeguard for individuals. The bill is not about creating a digital national identity card scheme and that is an important fact to note. 
Like the Identity Information Confirmation Bill this bill has other safeguards to ensure that the service operates securely to protect the privacy of individuals. These include provisions that allow the Privacy Commissioner to review the operation of the service. The Privacy Commissioner can ask for reports on any matter that she considers relevant. This enables the Privacy Commissioner to monitor the service proactively rather than being able to deal with the complaints only when a problem has occurred. 
For businesses I anticipate that the bill will be central to help meet customer due diligence requirements under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. From mid-2013 banks and other financial institutions will be required to undertake more extensive checks to know who their customers are. This bill provides a new innovative tool for businesses to use subject to their being authorised to use the service. 
While the bill enhances customer and business convenience contributing significantly to better public services it will also help to combat identify fraud and crime in New Zealand. The bill does this by requiring individuals to be subject to a passport-strength verification process supported by information-matching processes and checks against authoritative records. Agencies can therefore rely on the fact that the identity a person is claiming is indeed his or her identity. The bill makes it harder for identity fraudsters and will help Government agencies and businesses fight this increasing problem. These policy underpinnings reinforce the Government’s objectives. The bill enables an individual’s identity information to be used in a manner that is good for the Government good for business and most important good for New Zealanders. 
I want to highlight some of the significant changes that the Hon Ruth Dyson has led through the committee and which the Government supports. The changes include providing higher penalties for organisations that commit offences under the legislation. I understand that the committee considered that this change was necessary to create a sufficient deterrent for organisations from committing offences and to provide appropriate punishment to those that do so. The committee has recommended creating a regulation-making power to specify the duration for which the Department of Internal Affairs can retain personal information if an individual no longer uses the service. Setting periods under regulation will involve a careful balancing act. On one hand the service has legitimate needs to store information even if an individual no longer uses the services. For instance the photograph of an individual could be used to detect someone trying to use the service in the future using a fake or stolen identity. On the other hand individuals have a right to privacy including the ability to be forgotten when they opt out of services. 
Another significant proposed change from the committee was to limit law enforcement access to an individual’s record of usage history. This is a record of an individual’s interactions with agencies using the service but it does not contain any information about the transactions that the individual has undertaken. A law enforcement agency may require access to an individual’s usage history record to investigate and prosecute offences under the legislation. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: This is pathetic. 
Hon CHRIS TREMAIN 
: The committee decided it was appropriate to more tightly control law enforcement access to this information—that is the committee Mr Mallard not the Government and we are supporting that. Law enforcement agencies will require a search warrant to initiate a request for access or the Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs may provide access to law enforcement agencies in reporting a suspected offence against the legislation. The committee recommended a number of other important changes. The changes would clarify the legal effect of using the services. Other new provisions will enhance transparency of the service by requiring the proactive publication of reports and technical standards. The publication of those reports would be subject to information being withheld in line with the Official Information Act and to protect the security or integrity of the service. 
I appreciate the consideration that members of the Government Administration Committee gave to the bill and I appreciate the useful submissions made by members of the public. Once again I acknowledge the Hon Ruth Dyson’s leadership. I was particularly pleased to see that the Privacy Commissioner was strongly in favour of the bill. I intend to put forward a Supplementary Order Paper when the bill is considered by the Committee of the whole House to address a minor technical matter. Clause 61 protects officials and their agents from liability in certain circumstances. Under clauses 46 and 47 other people may undertake functions under delegation or agreement with the Chief Executive of the Department of Internal Affairs. They should also be protected from liability when legitimately performing that work. At present the wording of clause 61 does not expressly refer to the people performing functions under clauses 46 and 47. The Supplementary Order Paper will make this clear. This bill represents a significant shift in supporting the way New Zealanders can complete their online transactions and enables individuals’ information to be better used by the Government and the private sector. I commend this bill to the House.