The ongoing issue of New Zealand citizens with criminal records being deported from Australia has prompted questions as to what their privacy rights are under Australian law and whether they can access those rights from New Zealand.

The World Wide Web was invented in 1989 at much the same time that final drafting touches were being made to a privacy bill to be introduced to New Zealand’s Parliament. By 1993, when the Privacy Act was finally enacted, there were – wait for it – an estimated 15 million users of the Internet worldwide. That same year, according to Down to the Wire, Nat Torkington created New Zealand’s first ‘real web site’.

Digital communication is ubiquitous: a hair salon sends you text messages reminding you of appointments; movie tickets are booked through apps on your phone – and you wave a card in the air to pay for groceries. Our expectations might be that our health records can be also be swiftly and easily transferred.

There have been a couple of recent developments that are relevant to the status New Zealand enjoys as an ‘adequate’ third country under the EU Data Protection Directive.

When it comes to information, DNA is about as personal as it gets. The High Court recognised this in its damages award of $2,500 to a woman whose DNA was collected and stored by Police.

Last week’s decision of Clifford J in the Wellington High Court found that in the context of the Evidence Act, Nicky Hager was a journalist in relation to the publication of Dirty Politics, and was therefore entitled to assert privilege under s.68 of the Evidence Act 2006. 

While our fridges, toasters and socks are learning how to talk to each other, so is Barbie. While governments are finding new ways to watch what we do, how we interact and how we talk to each other, so is Barbie. And on Christmas day, while we are listening to our children run in squealing, excited circles, so will Barbie.

When I first was tasked with finding a place in order to complete my work experience, I immediately knew I wanted to do something with law and its practical application. However, Palmerston North only really had the city council building and a few law firms and that didn’t seem to quite fulfil what I wanted out of my 2 days of work experience.