Private property law being studied

Press, 29 August 1981, Page 5

Private property law being studied

Legislation to limit entry on to private property, and the searching of it is being * studied by the Public and Administrative Law Reform Committee, says the Attor-ney-General (Mr McLav).

In New Zealand, more than 150 acts of Parliament gave a power of entry on to, and rights to search, private property, without any warrant being issued. Mr McLay said.

He was speaking to the national Kiwanis convention being held in Christchurch.

In recent years there had been an upsurge of interest in the protection of individual privacy. In this computer age. an increasing amount of personal information was stored in electronic data banks “With their infallible memories and virtually indestructible records." Mr" McLay said.

Ultimately a comprehensive study of these powers being undertaken by the Law Reform Committee would lead to the enactment of a “Powers of Entry into Dwellinghouses Act” to control and limit the future exercise of such powers, he said.

Mr McLay believes that what concerns people even more is the question of the confidentiality of personal information about themselves which is held either by Government departments or by

business firms such as credit bureaus. “We can protect the individual by ensuring that Government information remains private and can if necessary be corrected and we can encourage private organisations to do likewise. “The Government's election manifesto recognised that accurate credit reporting. was in the interest of both consumers and the commercial community, and that there was a need for a standard code of practice to enable people to check and correct the information held by such bureaus. “The privacy provisions of the Wanganui Computer Centre Act include the right for anyone to apply for a copy of the information recorded about him or her and the right to make a complaint if the information is inaccurate.” Mr McLay said he was determined to continue to develop new laws and administrative procedures that preserved and strengthened the right to privacy —

without at the same time detracting in any way from freedom of speech and expression.