All monthly meetings are held 10.30am to 12 midday on the first Tuesday in the month in the Community Hub Board room, Level 4, 120 Featherston Street, Wellington.
We’ve asked all major political parties to respond in writing to the three issues raised in our briefing so that members could compare the policy approaches and level of commitment of each party.
To date we have received five responses; the Green, Labour, Maori, National and The Opportunities Parties (TOP).
Other party responses will be added when they are provided to us.
Read the Green, Labour, Maori, National, and TOP responses here
ComVoices speaks for non-profit services working to support people and build strong, healthy communities.
Many families are struggling to meet basic needs while the services designed to support them are also in a precarious financial situation. Communities are no longer places where everybody can participate and thrive.
The three things that would make a difference, and what you can do this election.
This election year we are asking political parties to focus on three issues and the practical ways government and community services could work together more effectively to make a difference.
An independent report released today into a recent data breach at MSD shows the problems created by a project with an unrealistic timeframe being imposed on a complex and sensitive area.
ComVoices is pleased to learn that no personal data was mistakenly released but the report details a series of mistakes and inadequacy.
ComVoices chair Brenda Pilott said that these errors were symptomatic of the implementation of this project to require community providers to collect and share personal information with MSD. “We have said from the outset that this process was being rushed and was not affording MSD time to consider all the issues. Nor have they engaged well with providers and other experts.”
ComVoices has consistently advised the department and Minister to slow down. “The timeframe for this project was self-imposed and coincided with a period of major restructuring within MSD. No wonder mistakes were made”, said Brenda Pilott.
“The Privacy Commissioner made four recommendations to MSD and its Minister, of which data security was just one. The other recommendations have not been addressed yet. Privacy considerations must be looked at carefully. Neither we nor MSD can give providers any reassurance that they can provide this sensitive data to MSD with full trust and confidence.”
Brenda Pilott said: “My message to MSD is to slow down and to engage with provider groups in a co-design process. This is too important to get wrong again.”
For further information, contact Brenda Pilott on 027 430 6016.
ComVoices is a Wellington based network of national community and voluntary sector organisations.
ComVoices.org.nz
Grand Hall, Parliament Buildings, Molesworth St, Wellington
Hon Alfred Ngaro Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Invites you to a cross parliamentary event to hear Dr Dhananjayan (Danny) Sriskandarajah Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS – the World Alliance for Citizen Participation Speaking on Citizen Participation in a Rapidly Changing World A global perspective on issues that affect us in New Zealand.
Click here to download the registration form.
Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector
Tuesday 2 May 2017
12.30pm – 1.30pm
The announcement of an enquiry into the privacy failure of MSD’s online reporting platform for community organisations required to provide individual client data (ICLD) addresses only one of the Privacy Commissioner’s four recommendations, says ComVoices.
“The just announced enquiry is deflecting us from the real question”, said Trevor McGlinchey, ComVoices Spokesperson. “The question at the heart of the enquiry should be why are we collecting data that the Privacy Commissioner has said is ‘…excessive, disproportionate to government’s legitimate needs and therefore inconsistent with the privacy principles’?”.
“The staff of social services organisations have a range of professional bodies which provide ethical guidelines about maintaining the privacy of clients. Not only will these organisations be breaking these ethical guidelines, they will also be forced to work in direct contravention of the Privacy Commissioner’s findings.”
At the moment service providers have been told they must continue to collect the private data of their clients to provide to MSD at a future date. They have not been told who will be held to account for breaking the privacy principles set out in the Privacy Act.
“The community sector is waiting for leadership from the Minister and MSD about the important issues raised in the Privacy Commissioner’s report,” says McGlinchey. “This mass collection of data is inappropriate and will directly affect many New Zealand families. This level of surveillance will cause others not to seek help so that they do not become labelled as ‘vulnerable’ and included as a named statistic on a government database. As always the NGO sector is happy to work alongside MSD to find a more appropriate solution to their data needs.”
ComVoices is calling on the Government to put an immediate hold on this policy while it addresses the issues raised by the Privacy Commissioner.
Contact Trevor McGlinchey, ComVoices Spokesperson, phone 027 286 9393
“While there is some relief that after the failure of MSD’s private data portal, Minister Tolley has put the reporting of clients’ private data on hold for a few months, NGOs are very frustrated with the Minister’s response to the Privacy Commissioner’s report on the collection of individual Client Data”, said Trevor McGlinchey, ComVoices Spokesperson. “The determination to push ahead with MSD collecting this sensitive data in the face of the Privacy Commissioners Report and the failure of the MSD information portal demonstrate that we should be holding off on implementing this process and a more effective way of demonstrating the value of social services should be developed’.
The Privacy Commissioner recommended that MSD should put consider alternative methods for accomplishing its goals such as having the information collated and analysed by Statistics New Zealand in the Integrated Data Infrastructure. “The members of the ComVoices networks fully support this proposal and stand ready to work with the Minister, MSD and the Ministry for Children to make this work”.
“We are now in the very difficult position of being expected to sign MSD contracts that are out of step with the Privacy Commissioner’s findings. It is difficult to see how we can do this in good faith and we have real concerns about the liability we might be opening ourselves up to.”
“We urge the Minister and her officials to match good intentions with good practice and listen and take action on the advice they have been given.”
Contact Trevor McGlinchey, ComVoices Spokesperson, phone 027 286 9393
ComVoices editorial from the sector.
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