Westpac Bank has apologised and today agreed to a settlement for Kiwi journalist Nicky Hager, after it supplied police with ten months' worth of his transaction details.
In September 2014 the New Zealand Police sought Mr Hager's account information, which was then provided to them by the bank.
Westpac's practice at the time was to comply with such requests in the belief it was entitled to do so under the Privacy Act.
The bank has since revised its privacy policy and have stated that customers "reasonably expect" that in similar circumstances such data will be kept private.
Westpac now say that only in "extremely limited circumstances" (such as when the police are searching for a missing person), the release of customers’ information now requires a production order.
Westpac has not elaborated on what that order means.
Mr Hager's barrister, Felix Geiringer posted on twitter today, questioning if other banks will follow suit with their policies.
"Pressure needs to continue on those other institutions until they implement terms like the ones announced today by Westpac," he said.
The bank has apologised to Mr Hager for the distress it has caused him and his family and has today agreed to pay him a settlement.
Last year , the police issued an apology to Mr Hagar and paid damages and legal costs following a raid on his home in 2014.
The New Zealand police have apologised to Dirty Politics author Nicky Hager from their 2014 investigation into the book and will pay damages and legal costs. (Source: Other)
The settlement document says police "accepted that they did not have reasonable grounds for the search, that they attempted to breach Mr Hager's journalistic privilege in multiple ways, and that they unlawfully obtained his private information from third parties including his bank".
"Police apologise unreservedly for these breaches of his rights."
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