NZ First has broken ranks with its coalition partners over digital driver’s licences, warning that digital-only ID systems could become “coercive or insecure.”
All six parties in Parliament, including NZ First, supported the Government’s Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill last month, which expands the definition of a licence to include both electronic and physical versions. Associate Transport Minister James Meager stressed at the time that “physical driver’s licences would always be an option.”
But on Tuesday, Winston Peters introduced his own bill that would fine organisations up to $50,000 if they insisted on digital-only identification. Peters said his proposal wasn’t anti-digital but a safeguard against “digital overreach.” “Our laws should protect personal choice and privacy, not erode them in the name of digital convenience,” he argued.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop countered that Peters’ concerns were already addressed. “The government’s changes to enable digital driver’s licences do not do away with physical driver licence cards…The point of our reforms is to give people the choice,” he said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has also backed the changes as “a common sense thing,” pointing out New Zealanders are already using digital wallets in daily life.
Digital driver’s licences are already in use in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and several US states. Bishop noted that rolling them out here will take time, but added New Zealand would be “among the first in the world” to do so.
Centrist Ltd.