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The Office of the Privacy Commissioner joined forces with the Office of the Ombudsman to mark Right to Know Day in New Zealand on 28 September 2017.
We marked the day with a Right to Know PrivacyLive Forum. There was a panel discussion with speakers including Dr Bryce Edwards from Transparency International, former Assistant Privacy Commissioner Katrine Evans, and Ombudsman Leo Donnelly. The forum was chaired by Radio New Zealand News Director and former Political Editor, Brent Edwards.
The event was in Wellington from 12pm to 1pm. If you missed it, a video recording is available here.
You can also view this brief video with Right to Know messages from Commissioner Edwards and Ombudsman Donnelly.
Background
The right of access to information is an important human right, necessary for the enjoyment of other human rights.
Right to Know Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the legal right New Zealanders have to see the information that organisations hold about them. While the Privacy Act gives people the right to have access to information about themselves, the Official Information Act gives people another kind of right - the right to access government information. Both these laws are important cornerstones of transparency and democracy and both are worth celebrating.
Right to Know Day is celebrated in a number of overseas countries with comparable jurisdictions to New Zealand such as Canada and Australia.
