There’s old saying about how, when one door closes, another opens. This adage applies nicely to recent developments concerning marketers in New Zealand. When the new Land Transport Amendment Bill takes effect later this year, they will no longer have access to the bulk mailing addresses of vehicle owners. The bill limits the information citizens may access through the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to vehicle make and model. Motorists’ complaints about promotional mailings and vehicle thefts prompted the amendment.

However, the Department of Internal Affairs (Births, Deaths, and Marriages) has given the New Zealand Marketing Association (NZMA) permission to administer the Deaths Index. The agreement lets marketers scrub their promotional target lists of the names of New Zealand’s deceased. The NZMA also administers the Do Not Mail and Do Not Call lists.