Excellent reporting on Campbell Live last night, with a detailed look at the timeline of events surrounding the GCSB Bill, the Kim Dotcom raid, the appointment of Key’s school chum to head the GCSB, and certain visits between Washington and NZ. See the video here – well worth watching. Cambell ends the piece by asking:
Why are we giving our spys so much more power, so hastily, with so little meaningful scrutiny. And who, exactly, are we doing it for…
The clear answer to the final question is “America”.
All New Zealanders should ask our government two simple questions, one, what do they need the new spying powers for, and two, where are our security threats?
Heavily featured in the piece was Robert Amsterdam (Human rights lawyer and now part of the Dotcom legal team). Here he is at 11:00:
This bill condones the illegal invasion of the privacy of each and every person in New Zealand. This bill is not constitutional. It is not consistent with human rights. It is a grotesque violation of the commonwealth principles that were enunciated in Harare.
And later:
This is an administration that doesn’t mind kissing the feet of Washington.
Amsterdam recommends that every New Zealander reads the Law Society white paper on the GCSB Bill – you can find it here (pdf). See also their short summary:
Expansion of GCSB intelligence gathering intrusive
The Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Bill is intrusive and no clear justification has been provided for the extraordinary extension of powers of the GCSB to conduct surveillance on New Zealand citizens and residents, the New Zealand Law Society says.
Law Society spokesperson Rodney Harrison QC says the bill empowers the GCSB to spy on New Zealand citizens and residents. He says the new objectives and functions for the GCSB effectively transform it from an agency which gathers foreign intelligence to one which also obtains domestic intelligence.
“This is inconsistent with the rights to freedom of expression and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and with privacy interests recognised by New Zealand law,” he says.
Privacy under attack.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress