Len Cook on revisions to the Stats Act

I had a chat last week with former Government Statistician Len Cook about some proposed changes to the Statistics Act. A greater reliance on administrative data will see some of the Government Statistician's powers pushed down to Ministries and Agencies that might not be well placed to handle it. 

Cook covers it here as well:

Without notice by all but a scarce few, the independence of the government statistician and the transparency of government data sharing and use in New Zealand could change after this year.

The Minister of Statistics David Clark has managed to avoid the public scrutiny of the constitutional implications of the Data and Statistics Bill despite transparency being a proper expectation for such change by citizens in a democratic society.

I've not pored over the legislation, but if Cook says there's a big problem in Clause 17, and that that Clause can just be deleted without harming the rest of the legislation, Parliament ought to have a look at it. 

You can catch my chat with Cook here:

The New Zealand Initiative · Podcast: Eric Crampton Talks With Len Cook About Changes To The Stats Act