Posts Tagged ‘sis’

No Right Turn: Spy cameras literally are

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 29th, 2021 - 21 comments

Its time for our local authorities (and other bodies such as NZTA) to come clean, and confess whether they allow the SIS to access their camera networks in this way. That would allow the people to judge whether it is acceptable, and hold them accountable if they feel it necessary. But I suspect that that prospect is precisely why the SIS has kept this secret for so long.

Spy vs Us

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, August 16th, 2016 - 135 comments

Today National introduced a bill that will enable the NZ Government to spy on its citizens.

NRT: The SIS is unfit for purpose

Written By: - Date published: 2:09 pm, November 4th, 2015 - 8 comments

I/S at No Right Turn writes on today’s IGIS report: “The overall picture is that SIS is a mess and highly resistant to change…”

NRT: Waihopaiology

Written By: - Date published: 5:17 pm, January 14th, 2015 - 45 comments

Idiot Savant speculates on why GCSB Director Ian Fletcher is standing down so unexpectedly.  Maybe another GCSB stuffup? Which of course someone has to fall on their sword for, but which must be kept secret for “security reasons” (aka “if the victims knew, they’d sue us and complain to the police”).

The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, December 2nd, 2014 - 34 comments

The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill is set to return to Parliament today with some changes likely to be recommended by the select committee.  And John Key is  sounding conciliatory by promising to wind some powers back while at the same time promising an increase in powers next year even though a review of the Intelligence agencies has not been completed.

Only on Planet Key

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, November 26th, 2014 - 16 comments

John Key thinks that the finding by Cheryl Gwyn that his office helped Cameron Slater with his OIA request is “contested”. Who should we believe? Updated: Key will be asked this question this afternoon in Parliament.

NRT: Abuse of power: The OIA / public records dimension

Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, November 25th, 2014 - 13 comments

Jason Ede deleted his personal emails. Some of those emails concerned ministerial business and should therefore are public records. There is a fine of $5000 per email destroyed. Similarly the SIS was illegally refusing media requests that are OIAs.  All as dodgy as hell. Time to charge some people violating public information acts?

The terrorism card

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, October 9th, 2014 - 46 comments

Terrorism is whatever John Key wants it to be.

Two tier strategy on spying

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, October 7th, 2014 - 30 comments

Key ditching responsibility for the GCSB and SIS, and adopting the newly created title of Minister for National Security and Intelligence, is another example of the dirty politics two tier strategy.

The long reach of “5 Eyes”: re-post

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, October 6th, 2014 - 15 comments

With Chris Finlayson just announced as minister in charge of GCSB & SIS, I thought it appropriate to re-post something I published on The Standard back in July 2013: links 5 Eyes’ attorney generals, cyber-security, Dotcom, etc.

NRT: “National security” or “National’s security”?

Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, September 14th, 2014 - 35 comments

John Key - spy vs lie

information is supposed to be classified only for valid reasons of national security. The information Key wants to release is likely classified SECRET or TOP SECRET. Its worth remembering that Key and his office are already under investigation by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security for politically-motivated declassification decisions.

Polity: Hooton on Key on SIS: Bullshit!

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, August 26th, 2014 - 118 comments

Rob says: Key was either complicit in the SIS document release to Whaleoil, or he has a gross dereliction of duty. Let’s hear what his answers are to that.

Timeline: Key responsible for SIS release

Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, August 23rd, 2014 - 73 comments

Key is responsible for the release of SIS briefing notes to Cameron Slater – one of the main issues summarised in Dirty Politics. Here’s the timeline in detail.

Key lied – The smoking gun?

Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, August 21st, 2014 - 165 comments

[Updated] John Key 8th August 2011: “”What happened is Warren Tucker didn’t come to me, he went to his legal adviser and his legal advisers told him this is the process they have to follow and when he was going through that process it was at that point he told me he’d release it because he has to tell me that under the no-surprises doctrine.”

Polity: Dirty politics: My 2c

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, August 14th, 2014 - 104 comments

John Key - spy vs lie

The use of clandestine SIS files as a weapon of partisan politics is needs to be investigated. John Key or his office discovered classified SIS files that were embarrassing to Phil Goff, got them declassified, then immediately told a right-wing blogger to seek those same newly-declassified files under the OIA, all as a means of smearing a political opponent.

Hager, fear & the surveillance state

Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, August 12th, 2014 - 82 comments

Nicky Hager’s latest book will be unveiled tomorrow. I look at his research interests, & his approach to investigative journalism; plus Hager’s speech on the GCSB Bill, & opposition party policies on state surveillance services.

NRT: Dysfunctional

Written By: - Date published: 5:48 pm, July 2nd, 2014 - 6 comments

In short, a report on our intelligence services says that they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know why they’re doing it, and they’re not doing it well. NZSIS can’t do its core job – security vetting – in a timely fashion, GCSB can’t even count, and they hate each other. Plus they’ve got poor financial management practices and no idea of how much stuff they own to boot. And then they wonder at the level of public hostility?

GCSB changes – outrageous anti-democratic

Written By: - Date published: 6:13 pm, April 15th, 2013 - 42 comments

Key has announced changes to the GCSB roles that will include assisting business and the police in spying against Kiwis.  it is anti-democratic, and will increase lack of accountability of the intelligence and crime fighting services.

It’s who you know

Written By: - Date published: 6:02 pm, August 4th, 2011 - 174 comments

Who cares whether or not the SIS briefed Phil Goff over whether or not some Israelis were Mossad? What does interest me it this: Secretive SIS  denied Fairfax a copy of the briefing paper on the non-agents. Days later it magics up a copy of this classified paper for Nat muckraker Cameron Slater. Who’s the SIS’s minister again? Oh yeah, John Key. Updated

I beg your pardon, Mr Key

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, December 7th, 2010 - 17 comments

A reader responds, pretty curtly, to John Key’s wholly inadequate explanation for why the select committee hearings on extending the SIS’s already broad powers will be secret. “It won’t be in the public interest to have it open, for a whole bunch of reasons I don’t want to go into,” Just doesn’t cut it.

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