Locke Keith: Births Deaths Marriages and Relationships Registration Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Locke Keith: Births Deaths Marriages and Relationships Registration Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:647;Page:16118] 
KEITH LOCKE (Green) 
: 
 I think it is up to the Greens to cool down this situation a bit by agreeing in large measure with both sides. It is true that the original bill seriously affected the traditionally open access to births deaths and marriages records and the National members who have spoken are quite right to say that there was an outcry around the country from journalists genealogists historians and biographers—that was actually the select committee process working. It showed that MMP was working too because the small parties like the Green Party and United Future were involved in the process. Peter Dunne and I presented a joint submission to the Government Administration Committee we talked to Government officials together and we helped transform the bill. 
The National speakers are right to say that there has been a transformation of key elements of this bill. This is probably the most changed bill that has been before Parliament in a long time and that is for the better. The bill retains some of the original good elements and is transformed in terms of the bad elements. Essentially the changes preserve open access. It is true that in certain circumstances people can close off their records—their birth records and their marriage or civil union records—but only for a prescribed period and on prescribed grounds and those grounds have to be substantive. One cannot just on a whim and without giving any reasons close off one’s records or close them off for life. 
I think it is up to us in this Parliament in what we say in this Committee stage and in the third reading to make it clear that we do not want regulations that are Draconian and that determinations have to be on really substantive grounds to close off records. We want records to be closed off only in really difficult situations such as some of those presented to the select committee. For example someone who has been beaten up by a former partner and who has left that partner and has linked up with another partner does not want the former abusive partner finding out his or her address through finding the new partner’s details on certain records and then perhaps following through to get the new address. That is a real situation as were I think some examples that have been used here today. 
Actually one cannot close off one’s death record. It is a little hard to close off one’s records after one is dead; that is fundamental. The fact that a person may have died of syphilis will be on the death record. The record will not be able to be closed off and could theoretically be linked to that person’s birth record as well. 
We do not need to get too carried away with identity theft because there are ways to avoid that. The Minister is right to say that having the access register helps monitor that. There are other improvements relating to the Department of Internal Affairs being able to link death records with birth records on its computer database. The matching of the records in this new system makes it very difficult for a person to go down to a graveyard and take something off a gravestone because it will all come up on the births deaths and marriages record in the department if there is something fishy going on. Similarly with regard to getting hold of birth certificates I think the system is now tighter. One can get printouts quite easily but if we want to get a real proof of identity birth certificate then we have to go through a more rigorous process so there are various controls. 
The other thing is that although there is identity theft it often occurs because of the incompetence of the various commercial organisations or banks that do not do proper checking. There are plenty of ways to check who people are these days. In fact everyone is on about a thousand different databases with all kinds of information so it is very easy to ask people appropriate questions and to check their identity. One of the things that came up at the select committee was that it is not a question of somehow getting Draconian in terms of the births deaths and marriages records and excusing those banks that do not do the proper checking.