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.

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’.