We should be suspicious when 800 police conduct “terror” raids across Australia, but only one person is charged with a relevant terrorism offence (of which we know few details).
John Key assured us on RNZ’s Nine to Noon programme yesterday that “In terms of the Fives Eyes data bases… yes New Zealand will contribute some information but not mass wholesale surveillance.”
This week it was good to see our Parliament speaking out strongly against the Israeli attack on a UN-run school refuge in Gaza. Meanwhile our Foreign Minister, Murray McCully continued to prevaricate on Gaza, saying little that could upset Israel.
It’s good to see the Sunday Star-Times attempting to get more information from government agencies about Daryl Jones, the Kiwi killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. The paper is right to complain about the government’s refusal to provide anything.
When I saw the NZ Herald headline, “France foils plot to blow up Eiffel Tower” I was immediately suspicious. It is now standard for police and intelligence services to come up with a terrorist scare when they are promoting legislation further restricting people’s rights.
Last week the State Service Commission issued a strongly critical report on our spy agencies. It concluded that there is ”urgency” for “a huge amount of change to be undertaken”. The agencies’ “national security and intelligence priorities are inadequately defined”; vetting systems are not up to scratch, and the public is kept too much in the dark about what the spies do.