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notices and features - Date published:
2:09 pm, November 4th, 2015 - 8 comments
Categories: accountability, Spying -
Tags: fail, igis, no right turn, sis
I/S at No Right Turn…
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security released their annual report [PDF] this morning. The headline news is buried in a single sentence right near the end:
I cannot conclude that NZSIS had sound compliance procedures and systems in place.
Given the importance of that statement – it is basicly saying that the SIS is unfit for purpose and that we have no robust way of determining whether they are obeying the law – you’d expect it to be headlined at the front of the report. Instead, its buried on page 48 (of 52). Doing that shows a fundamental misunderstanding by IGIS of their purpose. They’re meant to be a watchdog, and when they find that scale of failure, they need to bark, and bark loudly. Instead, they’ve given us a quiet little whisper, in a manner apparently designed not to be noticed. To point out the obvious, this is unlikely to build public trust in the office, the utility of its “oversight”, or in the institutions it is supposed to be watching.
As for the rest of the report, its a litany of abuse and failure. Some highlights:
The overall picture is that SIS is a mess and highly resistant to change, or basic compliance with the law and democratic norms. GCSB seems to be more open to reform, but there still clearly huge problems, both with what they do (regardless of legality) and with their internal culture. The complete lack of whistleblowing complaints speaks volumes.
As for the SIS, the failures disclosed in this report should be a death-knell for granting them any further powers – they clearly cannot be trusted with the ones they’ve got. Sadly, I expect these failures will be ignored by Ministers and their rubberstamp review team.
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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What can you expect when the minister running them are unfit for purpose.
Send your entire post to Dr Michael Cullen.
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[No idea why you made a comment or how it got through. Don’t appreciate you playing silly buggers and wasting my time. Six months.] – Bill
But but but… the All Blacks…
But but but… the royals…
This is gonna be like the police… that was then but it is all better now.
Oh God how I love No Right Turn.
Doesn’t mince words. Short. To the point. Damn straight.
GCSB and SIS should be disbanded. We don’t need them spying on us.
Apparently the SIS director will APPOLOGIZE to the govt officials who lost their jobs after “unsound” security clearance.
(From dompost editorial.)
Why don’t those who were sacked sue for wrongful dismissal
And then there’s torture…
IGIS report (pdf)
+100
Norightturn does a great job!
In my view the current government and hangers on are deliberately starting as many small fires as possible within policy so that the public, any independent media, blogs, commentators and opposition are getting fatigued by the constant ‘fires’ and either give up, stop caring, are unable to respond or able to analyse them to show what a disgusting undemocratic nasty state our country is becoming. This is helped by the absence of information forthcoming from the government in the form of OIA’s etc and politicising the SIS, GCSC, Police and turning them into personal political delivery errand boys for the current government and their mob.