MEDIA RELEASE
7 August 2006

Privacy Commissioner welcomes proposed motor vehicle register changes

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff today welcomed the Government's announcement that it is looking to restrict access to the New Zealand Motor Vehicle Register.

Mrs Shroff said her Office has been concerned for some years that personal information on the register was too readily available, and could be used in ways that were never intended.

"For example, anyone can use information from the register for direct marketing, which some people find annoying and intrusive. More seriously, the register can be used to trace people through their vehicle registration, which creates safety concerns," she says.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner first recommended improvements to privacy protection in relation to public registers generally in 1998.

"We would like to see a closer relationship between the purposes of the register and the release of information from it, such as when information is needed to enforce the law, to gather statistics, and to develop transport policy."

Mrs Shroff was commenting on Transport Safety Minister Harry Dynhoven's announcement this morning that he was developing policy to take to Cabinet that would ensure the register was only available to people for approved purposes connected with transport.

ENDS

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