Further information can be found on http://www.converge.org.nz/abc/
Thursday, January 5, 2017
2017 Waihopai SpyBase Protest
Further information can be found on http://www.converge.org.nz/abc/
Monday, October 17, 2016
Submissions on the Bill - round one
With minimal media coverage the submission cycle in response to the NZ Intelligence and Security Bill began last Thursday, more submissions will be heard this coming Thursday (20th October).
In 2014 Chris Finlayson described the Select Committee process as 'chit-chat', and for all intents and purpose it appears to be just that.
Not all members of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee were present at the first round of submissions on Thursday, 13 October. And as David Small gave his submissions via a Skype call, another member left the room. Others turned pages of paper - possibly they were reading David's submission whilst he was talking, it is hard to know.
There has been minimal media coverage of this Bill, there may be a little more coverage after the submissions this coming Thursday. But then there will be quiet again.
After the Select Committee hearings close there will be 'in-house' discussions and then the Bill will then be taken back before the Committee of the House before having its third and final reading and being passed into law.
There may be a few tweaks and changes here and there but this Bill will then become law sometime after February 2017.
Over the years thousands of people have protested and given submissions against the expansion of state intelligence and security laws, but each time the Bills are passed. Some of these Bills passing by only a handful of votes, consider the 2013 GCSB Amendment Bill which was passed by only two votes.
The government does not listen to protests nor submissions - so put pressure on the other parties in the House: currently both Labour and the Maori Party support this Bill - tell them not to support it.
Submissions on the Bill can be found on the Select Committee page.
In 2014 Chris Finlayson described the Select Committee process as 'chit-chat', and for all intents and purpose it appears to be just that.
Not all members of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee were present at the first round of submissions on Thursday, 13 October. And as David Small gave his submissions via a Skype call, another member left the room. Others turned pages of paper - possibly they were reading David's submission whilst he was talking, it is hard to know.
There has been minimal media coverage of this Bill, there may be a little more coverage after the submissions this coming Thursday. But then there will be quiet again.
After the Select Committee hearings close there will be 'in-house' discussions and then the Bill will then be taken back before the Committee of the House before having its third and final reading and being passed into law.
There may be a few tweaks and changes here and there but this Bill will then become law sometime after February 2017.
Over the years thousands of people have protested and given submissions against the expansion of state intelligence and security laws, but each time the Bills are passed. Some of these Bills passing by only a handful of votes, consider the 2013 GCSB Amendment Bill which was passed by only two votes.
The government does not listen to protests nor submissions - so put pressure on the other parties in the House: currently both Labour and the Maori Party support this Bill - tell them not to support it.
Submissions on the Bill can be found on the Select Committee page.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Oppose the Intelligence & Security Bill
Submissions are being called on for the new
Intelligence and Security Bill – but we say it is time to draw a line in the sand. The
unrelenting expansion of the NZ Intelligence Community must be stopped.
A brief over-view of the last few years
shows how relentless the changes have been:
Since 2007 the NZ SIS Act has been amended
a half a dozen times. In 2011 the Video
Surveillance Bill became law; a year later the Search and Surveillance Bill
was passed. This was followed in 2013 by two changes: the TICS Bill (the
Telecommunications Interception Capability and Security) and the GCSB and
Related Legislation Amendment Bill, a Bill passed by two votes. At the end
of 2014 the Countering
Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill became law.
There has also been a seemingly
never-ending series of reports, reviews and a concerted PR blitz:
In 2009 there was the Murdoch
Report of the SIS, GCSB and EAB. In 2011 Pipitea
House was opened enabling most of the NZ intelligence community to operate
under one roof and thus uniting the intelligence culture. In 2012 Paul
Neazor reported on GCSB spying in relation to the Dotcom saga, this was
followed in March 2013 with the Kitteridge
Report on the GCSB and then in 2014 the State
Sector Review of the intelligence community was released. In 2015 the Cullen and Reddy
Intelligence Review began and there was a lot of talk of ‘Jihadi Brides’.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Review of NZ Search and Surveillance Act underway
The Search and Surveillance Act 2012 is to be reviewed.
The Search and Surveillance Act is to be reviewed and a one-stop intelligence shop could come closer to realisation. Number 4 of the terms of references for the review is that it must look at whether the Act (or any related legislation) needs to be amended to enable broader use of the capabilities of the GCSB and /or NZSIS to support police investigations.
This would tie in nicely with the recommendations by Michael Cullen and Helen Reddy in their ‘Intelligence Review’ that the intelligence community operate under one Act, that is, in all but name there be a merge of the intelligence agencies.
The review of the Search and Surveillance Act is a statutory one required by law to look at the ‘operation of the provisions’ of the Act since it began, to see ‘whether those provisions should be retained or repealed’, and ‘if they should be retained, whether any amendments to the Act are necessary or desirable.’
Implicit in Amy Adams announcing of the review however, is that the agencies and institutions covered by the Act need more powers.
The Search and Surveillance Act is to be reviewed and a one-stop intelligence shop could come closer to realisation. Number 4 of the terms of references for the review is that it must look at whether the Act (or any related legislation) needs to be amended to enable broader use of the capabilities of the GCSB and /or NZSIS to support police investigations.
This would tie in nicely with the recommendations by Michael Cullen and Helen Reddy in their ‘Intelligence Review’ that the intelligence community operate under one Act, that is, in all but name there be a merge of the intelligence agencies.
The review of the Search and Surveillance Act is a statutory one required by law to look at the ‘operation of the provisions’ of the Act since it began, to see ‘whether those provisions should be retained or repealed’, and ‘if they should be retained, whether any amendments to the Act are necessary or desirable.’
Implicit in Amy Adams announcing of the review however, is that the agencies and institutions covered by the Act need more powers.
Friday, July 22, 2016
"The 5th Eye" Documentary on Waihopai Domebusters & GCSB
New Zealand is very much a member of a western spy network that is quite capable of reading and recording every shred of electronic communication you've ever generated.
The 5th Eye is the story of the events that underpinned so much of the farcical goings on at the 2014 general election, threaded through with the only-in-New Zealand yarn of the three men who – armed with a pair of cheap bolt cutters and a statue of the Virgin Mary – managed to break into and the Waihopai spy base and deflate the dome that covered one of the satellite dishes. A pity John Oliver wasn't paying attention to New Zealand back then. He would have a had a ball with that story. Wright and King-Jones assemble their material – new and archival – into an intelligent, informative and entertaining film. This is serious stuff, deftly done. Recommended. Source: Stuff.co.nz
The long anticipated documentary, THE 5TH EYE, that follows the story of the Waihopai Three and the GCSB premieres this month in the New Zealand International Film Festival.
The film will screen as part of the festival in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Timaru. Other regional screenings will be announced by the Film Festival in coming weeks.
Details about ticket sales are at www.The5thEye.com – Please be sure to get tickets early.
We also need your help: word of mouth and social media are currently our only promotional tools. So please join our facebook page, follow us on twitter, and please share our posts, tell your friends about the film and forward this email around to your contacts! Thanks and we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming screenings!
https://www.facebook.com/The5thEye/photos/a.839891559414987.1073741828.832972370106906/1071469812923826/?type=3&theater
Errol Wright & Abi King-Jones
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Intelligence merge not new
In all but name the Intelligence Review recommended a merge of the key NZ intelligence agencies. The proposal put forward by Sir Michael Cullen and Dame Patsy Reddy was to consolidate legislation governing the GCSB and NZSIS into one Act.
This idea is not new. In 2009 there was talk of merging the intelligence agencies. A Treasury official's notebook had been found in central Wellington and in the pages were notes about a merge. At the time John Key confirmed a merge of the intelligence agencies was an option, “I drove the decision to have a look (at how they operate) because there is quite a bit of crossover.” Value for money was also an issue he said. (The Murdoch Report was the result of this review)
Dollar value is a driving force and has already seen the building of the one-stop intelligence building, Pipitea House, in downtown Wellington. Now we will also see the agencies in a one-stop shop legal merge. One law to rule all.
This idea is not new. In 2009 there was talk of merging the intelligence agencies. A Treasury official's notebook had been found in central Wellington and in the pages were notes about a merge. At the time John Key confirmed a merge of the intelligence agencies was an option, “I drove the decision to have a look (at how they operate) because there is quite a bit of crossover.” Value for money was also an issue he said. (The Murdoch Report was the result of this review)
Dollar value is a driving force and has already seen the building of the one-stop intelligence building, Pipitea House, in downtown Wellington. Now we will also see the agencies in a one-stop shop legal merge. One law to rule all.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Surveillance Film Festival
Has the portrayal of surveillance in films caught up with us?
Dystopian Big Brother films from the past show glimpses of a present reality. Spy films and the machinations of spy paraphernalia capture our imagination with fantastical technology. Stasi and Cold War intelligence policing methods shock and titillate people. But Edward Snowden’s revelations opened many eyes to the ubiquitous world of mass surveillance right here and now.
The Surveillance Film Festival is an opportunity to explore the portrayal of surveillance in films and documentaries and ponder the reality of surveillance in our lives today.
Come and enjoy some films and see where the discussion takes us.
Venue: Thistle Hall, Upper Cuba, Wellington City
Friday 25th March
- 6pm - Farenheit451 (112mins) – then onwards for after-film discussion and drinks at a local pub. Saturday 26th March
- 11am - The Program (8mins) and ABC Secret Room (9mins) - Nicky Hager will be present for a talk after these two short films. - 12.30pm - Operation 8 (110mins)- 3pm - Every Step You Take (65mins) - followed by a chat with Kathleen Kuehn about the ubiquitousness of surveillance - 5.30pm - Maintenance of Silence (20mins) - 7pm - The Lives of Others (137mins)Film synopsis:Farenheit451 (1966) 112mins In Bradbury’s dystopian future most people are mindless drones living for instant gratification, plugged into ear buds or watching screens. News is controlled in censored bites, deep-thinking and analysis don’t happen. War economy rules. Sound sort of familiar? But in Farenheit451 all books are banned, is that the only difference?The Program and ABC News, Secret Room (2012 & 2008) William Binney and Mark Klein are names that should be familiar. They are whistleblowers who spoke about mass surveillance prior to Snowden’s revelations. The info was out there for us, but so many chose not to listen. Why didn’t we want to know about the surveillance then? Why are we already ignoring Snowden’s revelations? Operation 8: Deep in the Forest (2011) 110mins Eight years ago in October dawn raids woke many people, people were briefly jailed and allegations of terrorism were thrown about based on evidence gained by surveillance. This country has a long history of surveillance, see how it was used in this most public case to hinder and control people and think about what is happening now. Every Step You Take (2007) 65mins CCTV and face recognition are examples of surveillance to keep people safe. Ten years ago the technology shocked, now it is old. How quick does it all change and how accepting do we become? Maintenance of Silence (1985) 20mins Awareness of surveillance seemed to be more common a few decades ago. Tens of thousands protested against the expansion of police and SIS powers, later the Wanganui Computer was bombed. Then Neil Roberts left the quote from Junta Tuitiva of La Paz, ‘We have maintained a silence closely resembling stupidity’. What does our silence now resemble? The Lives of Others (2006) 137mins Surveillance and oppression on the other side of the iron curtain has been a favourite subject for a lot of films. But how different is that past from the future here?
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Intelligence & security report a dream come true for the Five Eyes
The release of the Independent review of intelligence and security recommends a range of changes that are dangerous to ordinary people, both within NZ and elsewhere, and represents a massive concentration of state power.
The major recommendation is the consolidation of the two acts governing the GCSB and the SIS into a single law. As Radio NZ reported, “A single piece of legislation would mean both agencies operated under the same objectives, functions and powers and warrant authorisation framework.” This is deeply problematic.
It must be understood at the outset that both GCSB and the SIS are essentially political police: they exist to identify threats to the New Zealand state, essentially “national security.” These agencies do not exist to root out criminal activity, that is the job of the Police. And, although in 2013, the GCSB was given the power to assist police with any matter, it is not an objective of that organisation (or the SIS) to prevent, detect or prosecute criminal offending. While the definition of criminal offences are spelled out quite clearly in law with identifiable components and evidentiary thresholds, threats to “national security” are at best vague and difficult to define. Even the Law Commission, an eminent body of NZ legal practitioners, struggled to explain what the national security is, noting “While the New Zealand courts have not yet been called upon to define national security, we expect that they will also face difficulties in pinning down the concept although there are varying definitions in use.” (National Security Information in Proceedings,_ p.14).
The major recommendation is the consolidation of the two acts governing the GCSB and the SIS into a single law. As Radio NZ reported, “A single piece of legislation would mean both agencies operated under the same objectives, functions and powers and warrant authorisation framework.” This is deeply problematic.
It must be understood at the outset that both GCSB and the SIS are essentially political police: they exist to identify threats to the New Zealand state, essentially “national security.” These agencies do not exist to root out criminal activity, that is the job of the Police. And, although in 2013, the GCSB was given the power to assist police with any matter, it is not an objective of that organisation (or the SIS) to prevent, detect or prosecute criminal offending. While the definition of criminal offences are spelled out quite clearly in law with identifiable components and evidentiary thresholds, threats to “national security” are at best vague and difficult to define. Even the Law Commission, an eminent body of NZ legal practitioners, struggled to explain what the national security is, noting “While the New Zealand courts have not yet been called upon to define national security, we expect that they will also face difficulties in pinning down the concept although there are varying definitions in use.” (National Security Information in Proceedings,_ p.14).
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Intelligence & Security Review Public Soon
The far from independent Intelligence Review was tabled
before the government on Monday, 29th February. John Key has announced that he wants it made public before March 11th and it will not be redacted.
It will not be redacted as it will only be big picture stuff. There will probably be the usual calls that the GCSB and the SIS must follow the law, that they must be more transparent and should work more closely together.
There may be an increase in the role of the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre). In one of her last public talks as acting director of GCSB, Una Jagose spoke about the importance of that group and increasing links between the corporate and intelligence world.
The Review will also bring law changes. A recently released 2014 'top-secret' briefing said law changes were the aim.
And the Review is to make recommendations on the life-span of the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill.
It will not be redacted as it will only be big picture stuff. There will probably be the usual calls that the GCSB and the SIS must follow the law, that they must be more transparent and should work more closely together.
There may be an increase in the role of the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre). In one of her last public talks as acting director of GCSB, Una Jagose spoke about the importance of that group and increasing links between the corporate and intelligence world.
The Review will also bring law changes. A recently released 2014 'top-secret' briefing said law changes were the aim.
And the Review is to make recommendations on the life-span of the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
The deadline for the Intelligence Review Looms
Lisa Fong will be the person in the hot seat when the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament receive the promised Intelligence Review.
On Monday, 15 February, two weeks before the deadline for the Intelligence Review is to be tabled, Una Jagose took up her new role as the Attorney General and Lisa Fong, former GCSB chief-legal advisor, is now the acting director.
On Monday, 15 February, two weeks before the deadline for the Intelligence Review is to be tabled, Una Jagose took up her new role as the Attorney General and Lisa Fong, former GCSB chief-legal advisor, is now the acting director.
According to the GCSB, Lisa has been
employed there since 2012 – the date may be arguably incorrect though (or an example of incorrect data gathering on the part of the GCSB). The official government release announcing Lisa Fong's appointment as acting director states that she started work at the GCSB in April 2013.
However, if the 2012 date is correct, that puts Lisa working at the GCSB when they were found to have spied illegally on 88 New Zealanders. She may have been giving advice then to Hugh Wolfensohn, the Deputy Director of Mission Enablement (DDME) and part-time legal advisor, who resigned in March 2013 just weeks before the Kitteridge report became public.
However, if the 2012 date is correct, that puts Lisa working at the GCSB when they were found to have spied illegally on 88 New Zealanders. She may have been giving advice then to Hugh Wolfensohn, the Deputy Director of Mission Enablement (DDME) and part-time legal advisor, who resigned in March 2013 just weeks before the Kitteridge report became public.
Regardless of whether she started in 2012 or 213 though, Lisa would have
been working there as the legal advisor when operation 'WTO Project'
was active and the GCSB was spying on Tim Groser's rivals for the
position of director-general of the WTO. The GCSB operation involved
covert surveillance of candidates from Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana,
Jordan, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and South Korea.
Whilst Lisa has been working there the GCSB has also been spying on Pacific countries and everyone
residing, passing through or holidaying in that area.
Lisa was working
there when it was written in tbe 2014 NZIC report that, among other things, the intelligence community had to
ensure they comply with the law.
When the far from independent
Intelligence Review is finally released, it will probably herald law changes to make legal a lot of the
unlawful activities that have become public since the Dotcom raid and
the Snowden leaks of 2012 and 2013.
To make law changes is the role of the Intelligence Review, this was clearly stated in the top-secret briefing to John Key in 2014.The briefing stated that the "review should provide a sound basis
on which to develop new legislation."
Any new legislation will only strengthen the already only so-called 'arguably legal' acts of the GCSB and ensure that NZ stays firmly entrenched in the Five-Eyes.
The next few weeks may prove busy for Lisa Fong.
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