Ref: 211327
Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Chuck Schooner
By email to Chuck Schooner
Tēnā koe Chuck Schooner
Response to your request for Official Information
On 19 October 2021, you requested from the Human Rights Commission (“the
Commission”) the following information:
1. The Labour government come this Friday are likely to implement active discrimination
against their own citizens contravening The Human Rights Act of unvaccinated. Has the
Human Rights Act changed?
2. Why is the government blatantly disregarding the Human Rights of New Zealanders
specifically trying to instruct providers of goods and services to actively discriminate against
a part of the population?
3. If this was any other group there would be outrage - what makes them above the law in this
instance? This is blatant discrimination.
General response
In general, the request you have made to the Commission falls outside the Official
Information Act 1982 (“the Act”), in that the information is not specified with due
particularly. The Act does not require the Commission to create an opinion, or to
provide information which either does not exist or is publicly available.
In response to your questions:
1. No, the Human Rights Act 1993 has not changed.
2. And 3: your questions at points 2 and 3 are directed to and relate to
obligations by the State (not National Human Rights Institutions, which are
independent of the departments of State).
As the information requested is either publicly available and providing it further would
require substantial collation or does not exist, we are declining to provide further
information under ss 18(e) and 18(f) of the Act.
The Commission has a collection of resources which are publicly available on our
website. In particular, you may be interested in information about human rights in
Level 8, 44 The Terrace, Wellington
PO Box 10424, Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
Waea Telephone +64 4 473-9981 Waea Whakaahua Facsimile +64 9 377-3593
Infoline Toll free 0800 496 877 / TTY
[Human Rights Commission request email] www.hrc.co.nz
relation to Covid-19, which can be found here:
https://www.hrc.co.nz/resources/human-rights-relation-covid-19/
Alternative avenues
If you are unhappy with this response, under the Official Information Act you are
entitled to complain to the Ombudsman’s Office. Information about how to make a
complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or on freephone 0800 802
602.
If you have any further queries about this response, please feel free to contact us on
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Nicky Wynne
Senior Legal Adviser
