Martin TraceyBIRTHS DEATHS MARRIAGES AND RELATIONSHIPS REGISTRATION BILLFirst ReadingHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister of Internal Affairs): I move That the Births Deaths Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Governance and Administration Committee for consideration.This bill replaces the Births Deaths Marriages and Relationships Registration Act 1995. The 1995 Act was the first time the law governing the civil registration of life events births deaths and marriages had been brought together in one place. Civil unions were added in 2005. Importantly the 1995 Act established the framework for the centralisation of the registration process and the computerisation and digitalisation of existing paper records. But after 22 years and many amendments repeals and additions a rewrite is long overdue.I want to acknowledge the work of my predecessor as Minister of Internal Affairs the Hon Peter Dunne for his efforts in getting the bill to this point. Importantly Minister Dunne led a comprehensive review of the rules governing public access to registered information about life events.With limited exceptions the public have always been able to access information registered under the 1995 Act and its predecessors. This access supports a range of legitimate purposes including family history research. The current access rules have been in place since 2009. Briefly they aim to balance privacy interests and the protection of risk for individuals with the public interest.The previous Minister's review gave members of the public and interested parties the opportunity to have their say about the rules and they were consulted on the changes the bill introduces. The review confirmed that the basic principles underpinning the access regime were sound. However almost everyone who made a submission during the review expressed a preference for digital and online access over paper-based access via certificates and printouts. But the 1995 Act was drafted at a time paper-based access was the norm. The Act has been amended to allow some transactions to be completely electronic but even when the information is historical—and some records go back to 1848—members of the public can only access individual records by purchasing a certificate or printout.This Government wants to maximise the benefits of the growing digital economy. We also want to make it easier for New Zealanders to interact with Government in an online environment that is trusted and trustworthy. That commitment is evident in the appointment of my Cabinet colleague the Hon Clare Curran as Minister for Government Digital Services  and that commitment is evident too in our support for this bill.The bill will deliver an Act that is modern fit for purpose and future proofed. First the bill implements the changes recommended in the previous Minister's report to Parliament on the review of the access provisions. The changes will support development of new digital and online access channels. They balance individual interests in privacy and security concerns in particular and the public interest in access to registered information for legitimate purposes.The bill maintains the distinction between historical and non-historical births deaths and marriages information and related rules. It will put in place a legislative framework that supports development of new digital and online access channels. In particular the bill will facilitate development of an online pay-for-view access regime for historical records similar to that operating in Scotland. Scotland pioneered the provision of large-scale online access to historical information about life events. It has similar access rules to New Zealand including the time limits used to define historical records. Several submitters to our recent ministerial review cited the Scottish people's website as an exemplar of best practice.At present historical information can be searched but not viewed online. The bill will enable the registrar-general to make historical register images available online as an alternative to the purchase of a certificate or printout. Users will need a verified RealMe ID or approved equivalent that can be asserted online.Users with a verified ID will also be able to search a limited subset of non-historical information to help them identify but not reconstruct an individual record they may want to access. Non-historical records will not be made available online because non-historical records may involve living individuals and their privacy interests outweigh any considerations such as ease of access. Individual non-historical records could still be accessed through the purchase of a certificate or printout. This maintains the status quo and is consistent with the Scottish people's model.The bill makes a number of minor amendments to support future online access to historical records. These include making historical birth information available at the same time the corresponding death record becomes available. The bill also reduces the age at which marriage records are classified as historical to 75 years down from 80 years and the bill will correct an anomaly concerning access to pre-1955 intention-to-marry records held by Archives New Zealand. Technically the 1995 Act requires access to be restricted indefinitely. The bill will classify these records as marriage-registered and authorise access in the same way and subject them to the same rules as apply to solemnised marriage records.The bill also includes a number of amendments arising from the Department of Internal Affairs internal operational review of the 1995 Act. This internal review did not look at the big P" policy issues so apart from the changes to the access provisions that I have already mentioned the bill largely re-enacts the existing law but it does so in a way that ensures all provisions are presented in an up-to-date and accessible form.The very fact that this bill is before the House now is because the 1995 Act lacks coherence and can be difficult to read and understand. For example I've already noted that the 1995 Act has been amended to allow most transactions to be completed electronically but that amendment is buried in a section at the back of the Act. The Act itself still reads as though people must put pen to paper give notice in writing and post documents or deposit them with the registrar-general. In summary the bill omits redundant and spent provisions renumbers provisions and changes the language used to reflect modern drafting standards. The language used has been deliberately chosen to future-proof the law to provide flexibility for future service delivery solutions but new service options will be in addition to rather than instead of existing ways of doing business.I would like to note that alongside the decision to replace the 1995 Act with a modern piece of legislation the department's internal review did identify several small but important changes that were needed. In particular the bill closes a loophole that would allow back-door access to information protected by a non-disclosure direction. Those directions are put in place to prevent third parties access to information about at-risk individuals and their families. The bill also strengthens the operation of the access register which records details of third parties' access requests to someone else's information. I'm pleased to note these amendments have been endorsed by the Privacy Commissioner. I am aware that there are some aspects of the existing law that members in this House would like to see reviewed. For example I know the Governance and Administration Committee presented its report on the Petition of Allyson Hamblett the day after the bill was introduced. The committee's report included a recommendation that the Government review the process for changing nominated sex on birth certificates. I will be presenting the Government's response to the committee's report in due course. I am pleased the bill and the upcoming select committee process will provide a timely opportunity to fully test the law in line with the committee's recommendation.Finally the bill includes three discreet amendments that respond to issues raised in the Law Commission's report on burial and cremation law. These amendments will improve the timeliness and accuracy of cause of death information reported to the registrar-general. They are included in this bill as they can be progressed independently of the other work under way including the Ministry of Health - led consideration of a replacement for the Burial and Cremation Act 1964.To conclude it is fitting that after more than 22 years this important piece of legislation is refreshed. The bill will replace the 1995 Act with a modern Act that is easy for people to use and understand and that can keep up with modern business practice and technology. At the same time it introduces additional protections for privacy interests and at-risk individuals. My thanks go to the officials and the previous Minister who worked hard to achieve this result. Finally I welcome the opportunity to test the policy behind all aspects of the bill through the select committee process. I commend this bill to the House."