Commissioner backs data drive

wine – there are annual tariffs paid in TPP economies of at least $130 million. If other products are added (forestry, manufactured goods), and combined with some even partial gains on dairy, the benefits would be major. This is just money saved, not new business, which, as our other FTAs have shown, would occur under lower tariffs. We should not overlook the impact of commitments on services exports – especially professional services (engineering, ICT, software) and financial services – and provisions which make investing in New Zealand or New Zealand companies investing offshore more attractive.

Maui would appear to have settled differences among the parties including the need to balance protections for investors with the right to continue to regulate to promote public health (including in respect to tobacco) and the environment, and in New Zealand’s case to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi and to make decisions under the Overseas Investment Act.

On intellectual property New Zealand has interests to promote (our creative industries and some IT exports could benefit from better IP protection internationally) as well as some clear risks to avoid.

Generally the Government will want to hold to existing policy in respect to medicine pricing, the role of Pharmac, patent terms and extensions including in respect to biologic drugs and to software, copyright, geographical indications, parallel importing and internet file downloading. New Zealand negotiators are well aware of the potential costs of moving away from current policy: while some change to current policies cannot be excluded, the Government continues to reassure the public that this can be managed.

Among the range of other issues in the final TPP there could be some other important advances. TPP could be the first FTA to include binding environmental provisions which protect endangered species – a major win.

The biggest prize from TPP is being part of the framework of new rules for trade and investment in the wider region that takes 70 per cent of our exports. We know from past experience how difficult it is when we are locked out from overseas markets. Trade is what makes possible the lifestyles we enjoy.

That’s why the TPP dance needs to go on – could any responsible New Zealand Government seriously afford to turn away from doing the utmost to achieve an acceptable outcome? Privacy Commissioner John Edwards has backed a government drive to win public trust for the wider use of people’s personal information.

Finance Minister Bill English announced the Government would create a Data Futures Partnership comprised of ‘‘40 influential credible individuals’’ to help broker a new social contract between the public sector, businesses and the public on the use of data.

Edwards said the environment was changing because of new technology.

The Cabinet paper proposed the partnership would champion the innovative use of data at the same time as helping determine the ethics that would govern its wider sharing and use.

Edwards said he saw no conflict in that. ‘‘I think those should be absolutely compatible.

‘‘What my understanding of the Data Futures Partnership is, is it will be there to ensure we can unlock value from public and private data sets in ways that are understood by the wider community as being important and valuable.’’

Edwards said he did not have examples of what data might be unlocked, or to what end.

‘‘That is what innovation is all about; coming up with things people haven’t thought of before. They will have to be mindful of privacy controls.’’

Edwards said he did not have enough information to comment on a suggestion by Justice Minister Amy Adams that police should be allowed to secretly warn people if their partners had a history of domestic violence.

‘‘I would need to see how that would work operationally before I would comment, but I don’t think you would find anyone debating that we need to do better to reduce domestic violence.

‘‘If making information more readily available can do that and there are controls around it, certainly that would be a positive thing,’’ he said.

Feedback on Stuff suggested the Data Futures Partnership might

That is what innovation is all about; coming up with things people haven’t thought of before. John Edwards Privacy Commissioner

have its work out.

One reader commented that the fact the Government appeared to be asking other people to tell the public to trust it was ‘‘an admission of failure’’.

The Cabinet paper said less than a third of people reported feeling in control of how government agencies used their information and that ‘‘public trust in the data-use ecosystem is tenuous’’.

Edwards said he was unsure what questions people were responding to that had led to those conclusions.

‘‘If it was based on experience of data breaches, you could understand there are challenges in building up that trust.

‘‘But a number of initiatives under way should improve trust. One of them is the establishment of a government chief privacy officer,’’ he said.