As oral historians we are acutely aware of the responsibility of collecting and recording personal information, storing it safely and ensuring it is used in ways that do not harm the person we’ve interviewed or others. We follow a strict Code of Ethical and Technical Practice. In most respects our practices align with the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) contained in the privacy legislation (Privacy Act 2020), but we are concerned about the potentially chilling impact of the new IPP3A contained in the Privacy Amendment Bill 2023, currently before the Justice Select Committee. We’d like to see exceptions to this and other parts of the IPPs to allow ‘archiving and research in the public interest’.

The President of the National Oral History Association, Associate Professor Anna Green, appeared in front of the Justice Select Committee last week in support of the Association’s submission. I also submitted. We argued that the Privacy Act needs amendment to ensure our legislative framework adequately supports scientific, historical and research work and bring the New Zealand legislation into line with the EU data privacy legislation, GDPR, its UK equivalent and international best practice. Anna Green has brought the issue to wider public attention through an op ed in The Post and on RNZ Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan today.