Little Andrew: Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Little Andrew: Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 19 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:7940. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
ANDREW LITTLE (Labour) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to speak once again on this very important piece of legislation the Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill and to remind the Committee once again that a citizen’s right to privacy is absolutely fundamental. In the type of liberal democracy that we have in this country we cherish the ability of citizens to go about their tasks duties responsibilities and their interactions with the Government in such a way that their interests and their privacy are protected and that they can have some confidence that it is going to be protected. None of that is to denounce the worthy objectives of this piece of legislation which is why the Labour Party supports it. Nothing is to detract from the benefits that can be gained from a rigorous and proper information-sharing arrangement between agencies noting however that the bill covers not just public agencies but private agencies as well. 
But let us understand though too that it is not just a question of achieving a balance. Members opposite talk about this balance. There are some rights that are absolute and there are some interests that if they are not absolute border on it. The right of citizens to preserve information about themselves either through not being compelled to disclose it or having disclosed that information to have it protected and preserved from the prying eyes of the general public is pretty fundamental. So we look at this bill through that sort of lens and we never take it for granted when the State says it will be good and proper in all it does with citizens’ rights and responsibilities—do not take that at face value. It is the role of this House and every member in it to ensure that legislation that passes through here that impinges upon or has the potential to impinge upon or bear upon citizens’ rights is given the utmost scrutiny. I accept the assurances of the last speaker Alfred Ngaro that the Justice and Electoral Committee did a thorough job but now at this point the rest of the House gets a chance to have a look. It is important that those who were not on the select committee and actively involved in it get to scrutinise the work that was done and see what is brought back here. 
The starting point must be that the personal information of every citizen must be protected to the greatest extent possible. And we know why. Look what happens when there are breaches of privacy—the public reaction is phenomenal. It is always emphasised and it is always emphatic because people are fearful when their information is disclosed whether to the public at large or to other citizens in an improper way. We saw that with ACC. The Minister in the chair the Minister of Conservation knows that absolutely and I accept that he respects the agencies like ACC which are agencies gathering some of the most sensitive information that could possibly be gathered from citizens—not just in the conventional sensitive claims unit sense but any medical information that is disclosed to a State agency is always going to be ultra-sensitive. 
When information about individuals is disclosed then that is a matter of considerable public concern and outcry as we have seen—indeed in respect of not just ACC but also the Inland Revenue Department. Indeed in the educational sector we have had information disclosed through the hapless Novopay system. You can see it actually in the experience of the former Minister responsible for Novopay Craig Foss who when he took up that responsibility began discharging his responsibilities—nervous about it—by chewing his nails. Well things have got so bad since even since he has discharged that responsibility that he is now down to chewing his right arm—that is how bad it is. That is how concerned National members are about the breaches of privacy entailed by Novopay. The previous Minister has stopped chewing his nails; he is now chewing his entire right arm. That is how bad it is. It is for that reason that we should be very concerned when we look at a bill that is about giving State agencies the power to share information. 
I accept that by and large the regime that is set out in this bill for information sharing is a good one. It requires the agencies to be clear and explicit about the purposes of the information sharing what it is going to be used for and its oversight by the Privacy Commissioner. Anybody whose information has been shared where that leads to adverse consequences is to be notified and may have an opportunity to correct any misinformation that is involved. That is all good stuff but there is at least one arbitrary power in this that concerns me and that is the ability of the lead agency in any information-sharing agreement—