22 September 2011
Green Party won’t support Video Surveillance Bill
The Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill is unnecessary and offensive to both the rule of law and proper
parliamentary process, Green Party human rights spokesperson Keith Locke said today.
Today Mr Locke sent a letter to Attorney-General Chris Finlayson informing him the Green Party won’t be supporting the
Government’s Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill. In the letter to the Attorney-General Mr Locke
outlined the following reasons for not supporting the Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill:
1. Only in exceptional circumstances would the Green Party support retrospective legislation and this is not one of
them.
2. There is not sufficient reason for moving with such urgency. It is clear from the Supreme Court ruling in the
Operation 8 case that the Evidence Act allows for video evidence not legally obtained to be used in trials in certain
circumstances, including when the charges are serious.
3. An abbreviated Select Committee process would not be adequate to address the Green Party’s concerns in such a complex
area as surveillance legislation. The Justice and Electoral Committee spent two years considering the Search and
Surveillance Bill, which deals with Police surveillance. It fine-tuned the legal processes in the Bill around the
granting of a new warrant, a surveillance warrant, and it proposed prohibiting video surveillance involving trespass for
all but offences carrying a penalty of seven years or more in prison, or arms offences.
“The Video Camera Surveillance Bill gives Police carte blanche to use covert video surveillance when implementing their
search powers,” said Mr Locke.
“After studying the draft legislation it appears that other state agencies will be given these unrestrained video
surveillance powers. This goes against Section 21 of the Bill of Rights Act, prohibiting unreasonable search and
seizure, including unreasonable surveillance by state agencies.
“Rushing through a law which gives any state agency a blank cheque implement covert surveillance of private premises is
irresponsible,” said Mr Locke.
ENDS