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Privacy Act 2020

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International relations

This section protects the long-standing practice where governments exchange information confidentially with each other for various purposes such as diplomatic exchanges and cross-border law enforcement.

For instance, if there's a real risk that providing the information could deter foreign governments from giving New Zealand information in the future, then the information can be withheld.

The case of Kaiser v Ministry of Agriculture et al (May 2009) indicates that:

  • The information does not have to be actually 'confidential' - the section refers only to information that is provided 'on a basis of confidence'. This is because the section is not focused upon protecting the information itself, so much as protecting the relationship between the New Zealand government agency and the foreign government agency. Even if the information is not obviously confidential, releasing it may have a negative effect on that relationship.
  • The more secret or confidential the information is, though, the easier it will be to infer that there's a relationship of confidence.
  • It is helpful, but not essential, to have formal agreements saying that the exchanges of information are confidential.
  • There does not have to be a danger that the foreign government agency will stop sending information to the New Zealand government altogether. All that is necessary is a real risk that the foreign agency could be less willing to send information in future.
     

Privacy Act 2020 reference:

51. Security, defence, international relations as reason for refusing access to personal information
(1) An agency may refuse access to any personal information requested if the disclosure of the information would be likely —
(a) to prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand or the international relations of the Government of New Zealand; or
(b) to prejudice the entrusting of information to the Government of New Zealand on a basis of confidence by—
(i) the Government of any other country or any agency of the Government of any other country; or
(ii) any international organisation; or
(d) to prejudice relations between any of the Governments of—
(i) New Zealand:
(ii) the Cook Islands:
(iii) Niue; or
(e) to prejudice the international relations of the Government of—
(i) the Cook Islands; or
(ii) Niue.

See also

Refusal ground - Security, defence

 

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