O'Connor Greg; Edmonds BarbaraDIGITAL IDENTITY SERVICES TRUST FRAMEWORK BILLIn CommitteeParts 1 to 7 the Schedule and clauses 1 and 2CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Members we come now to the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework Bill. We come first to the debate on Part 1. This is the debate on clauses 3 to 7 and the Schedule Preliminary provisions" The question is that Part 1 stand part.BARBARA EDMONDS (Junior Whip—Labour): Point of order. Thank you Mr Chair. I seek leave for all provisions to be taken as one debate.CHAIRPERSON (Greg O'Connor): Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There's no objection. We will hear this as one part. The question is that Parts 1 to 7 the Schedule and clauses 1 and 2 stand part.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications): In an increasingly digital world it is important that people can prove who they are online in a trusted and consistent way. Digital identity services give people the ability to securely share information about themselves such as their date of birth and name and that enables access to services like setting up a bank account online or providing a new employer with information. However the digital identity environment currently lacks consistent standards making it difficult to provide genuine and secure services. This bill introduces a new regulatory framework being the trust framework which will establish standards for the provision of secure digital identity services. These standards will give people more control over their own data. That includes what they choose to share about themselves and who they share it with. Digital identity is essential to the development of more effective and efficient online services making us as a society more resilient.If a digital identity service provider wants to become accredited they will have to meet the requirements under the trust framework. The trust framework introduced in this bill will be opt-in and I do want to stress that for the committee. There has been a degree of dis- and misinformation about this which I know the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee heard too. This is an opt-in framework. So if consumers want to use digital identity services they will be able to choose to use a regulated service marked with a trust mark that assures their information has been stored and shared in a way that protects their privacy and security. Importantly for people who don't have access to or choose not to use digital identity services the Government will continue to make in-person services available. We had a debate on that in the House earlier this year. I want to acknowledge the Citizens Advice Bureau who often are there on behalf of folk who either don't want to or are unable to be online currently.The trust framework doesn't establish a centralised identity system. It doesn't create any new powers for the Government to collect or share people's information without their consent. It's really important to be clear on that. If they authorise it information about a person's identity will be verified against the information recorded in the Births Deaths and Marriages registry similar to how identity is currently verified when applying for a passport. Personal information cannot be accessed or shared without the person's consent. Information will only be stored for as long as it's needed and it will be securely encrypted while stored and in use. Information cannot be sold on to third parties.There has been confusion over the technical operation of the trust framework and I would like to take this opportunity to dispel it. There has been an increase in online services which require proof of identity—accessing a bank account applying for a student loan or completing a rental application are a few examples that come to mind. Consumers want to be able to provide this information easily and securely. Businesses want to be able to use this information to make decisions about eligibility and entitlement with a high level of confidence. A secure digital identity credential will enable these services to be provided online without the need for personal information such as a passport to be shared. This makes the transaction more secure with it being encrypted and only necessary information being provided—for example a proof of identity may not always need to include a person's birth date. This system will enable sharing of only the minimum information needed and nothing more. Valuable and personal and organisational information exists in a range of locations across the public and private sector. Some of these locations are the authoritative source of information they hold such as the Births Deaths and Marriages registry; other sources may hold non-authoritative information such as a utility company holding on to a person's address—they have a level of confidence that the person lives at the address but the utility company is not the authority for addresses in New Zealand. Any organisations holding information may choose to participate in the trust framework as an information provider. Under the trust framework system this information will remain where it is currently stored and there will be no centralised data repository.I might leave my initial contribution there. There is a lot to say about this. I'm looking forward to members' contributions as we set up something that will be of great use to New Zealand citizens."