The threats facing NZ

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, November 5th, 2015 - 24 comments
Categories: Deep stuff, Spying - Tags: ,

David Fisher had an interesting piece in The Herald this morning:

Spies tell John Key: The six threats facing New Zealand
…
1 Violent extremism in NZ and by New Zealanders – the report warns migration is creating communities with “distinct identities and links overseas”. It appears to reflect information the SIS has learned from Muslim communities.

2 Loss of information and data – the means by which a cyber attack is done is “easier to acquire and easy to combine with insider threats”. It poses economic and reputational risks.

3 Hostile intelligence operations in and against the country – the report warns of “industrial espionage” against companies and “targeting of New Zealanders by foreign governments”. Again, the consequence of increased migration could be linked to these concerns.

4 Mass arrivals – the entire small section is redacted, but John Key has previously spoken of concern over boat-loads of refugees making landfall in New Zealand.

5 Trans-national organised crime – drugs, money-laundering and illegal fishing are highlighted, brought about by an “open economy, the internet and established networks among migrant communities”.

6 Instability in the South Pacific – the entire section is blanked out, but the SIS has had a close focus on Fiji, its leadership and anti-regime movements in New Zealand and Australia.

Source: Briefing to the Incoming Minister, NZ Intelligence Community.

There’s a certain xenophobic thread running through that list, and an inflated sense of our own significance (“industrial espionage” makes the top 6 – really?). It’s a list about protecting wealth and privilege, nothing more. Here’s a few of the real threats that are missing:

  • Climate change.
  • Poverty.
  • Environmental degradation.
  • The socially damaging effects of inequality.
  • Dumbing down (the systematic decay of quality journalism and democratic participation).
  • Our narrow and vulnerable economic base.
  • The impact of technology and the changing profile of work.
  • Our demographic profile / superannuation.
  • Racism, xenophobia and intolerance.
  • Our short term political system and its inability to deal with long term issues.
  • And so on…

I would argue that most of those threats are more significant than most in the spies’ list.

24 comments on “The threats facing NZ ”

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  1. Yoza 1
    5 November 2015 at 10:33 am

    6 Instability in the South Pacific – the entire section is blanked out, but the SIS has had a close focus on Fiji, its leadership and anti-regime movements in New Zealand and Australia.

    Why would NZ give a toss about Fiji? The primary function is protecting the productive activity of large concentrations of anglo-capital. Mining operations in Western Papua and the Solomons need to be defended against indigenous ‘self-interest’.
    I imagine people like Maire Leadbetter are more closely scrutinised than the Fiji regime.

  2. Tiger Mountain 2
    5 November 2015 at 10:43 am

    interesting that internal dissent aka citizens exercising freedom of association and expression, as per TPPA, was not mentioned, maybe that is ‘taken as read’ by todays Pie and Penthouse brigade descendants?

    the SIS have been sprung monitoring and infiltrating various environmental, animal rights, union, marxist and one issue protest movements over the years and one imagines them filling their boots with the new warrantless snooping

  3. Jester 3
    5 November 2015 at 10:50 am

    Will be interesting if the investigation currently being undertaken confirms the Govt was up to its eyeball in the CIA’s illegal Rendition Programme.

    • Aaron 3.1
      5 November 2015 at 12:36 pm

      Why do you think this report came out today? – A report critical of the SIS came out yesterday and now this today – they’re not even trying to be subtle!

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    5 November 2015 at 10:56 am

    These things are what happen when your society is capitalistic in nature and competes with each other and the rest of the world. Freely sharing data and scientific findings would simply eliminate many of those threats.

  5. Paul 5
    5 November 2015 at 11:28 am

    The only reason why ‘Mass arrivals’ might be a serious threat is because of climate change. People are only going to take to boats to cross the Pacific because they are very very desperate. Climate change will make people desperate. So climate change is the actual threat.

    This silly list was published by the Herald.
    Enough said.

  6. Jim 6
    5 November 2015 at 12:10 pm

    Lets be honest- the biggest threat facing NZ is not a list of 6. Its 666.
    The Hexagram – and its illegal spying on everything we in NZ now do. Anything with a sim card, or an “Intel” chip, has back doors direct to faceless [del] office buildings. And fully supported by the [r0b: racist bits deleted and not welcome here. Approved with probation.]

  7. savenz 7
    5 November 2015 at 12:11 pm

    Just shows what a joke our government spies are. Being part of reality TV should be right up their alley if it pans out. Outsource the real work to the NSA and then just act the part.

    The scary thing, is that the spies want the threats to come through – user pays – more money for SIS and GCSB and more NSA involvement the more ‘threats’ they can find.

    Look at the UK where the UK spies are the ones radicalising the local muslims to drum up business.

    Sorry climate change isn’t really funded to SIS, likewise poverty etc. – Hence why would they play up that threat?

    That is the trouble with all this neoliberal ideology – instead of working for society (which does not exist in their paper models) everyone works for themselves to further their own ends. So more criminals, more threats, more security breaches.

    Is the USA a good place for it’s citizens with trillions in debt and extreme inequality?

    Is China a good place for it’s citizens with zero freedom of speech, corruption and extreme inequality.

    We are lucky in NZ we have a unique lifestyle available to us, unfortunately the government seems keen to erode this at an alarming pace to make Kiwis frightened of being in charge of our own destiny and destroy our country by trying to sell us off to the highest bidder and give the US cart blanche on our security – and make the tax payers fund it all.

  8. Stephen 8
    5 November 2015 at 12:19 pm

    Id have thought the diminishing resources at the bio security level would be a serious threat. Foot and mouth anyone?

  9. Colonial Viper 9
    5 November 2015 at 12:23 pm

    Usual bullshit from the spy agencies wanting more budget, personnel and power.

    • emergency mike 9.1
      5 November 2015 at 4:09 pm

      Exactly, and Key gets to earnestly puff up his chest and talk about protecting kiwis from turrrists some more. Backs scratched. One wonders how The Herald knew what to ask for on their OIA request.

  10. marty mars 10
    5 November 2015 at 12:26 pm

    ‘keeping our jobs’ should have been at the top of their list.

    Your list makes so much more sense.

  11. Tracey 11
    5 November 2015 at 5:16 pm

    Nice diversion from findings that gcsb cant sit on a toilet the right way

  12. Mike the Savage One 12
    5 November 2015 at 5:25 pm

    To be fair, the above reported by David Fisher and relating to the security agencies’ concerns, must be considered from a national security threat perspective. That is considering threats to security of state and other administration, to business and citizens – from outside forces that are other state agencies, individuals or groups of humans with bad intentions.

    The list of threats that Anthony presents are of course other valid threats:
    Climate change.
    Poverty.
    Environmental degradation.
    The socially damaging effects of inequality.
    Dumbing down (the systematic decay of quality journalism and democratic participation).
    Our narrow and vulnerable economic base.
    The impact of technology and the changing profile of work.
    Our demographic profile / superannuation.
    Racism, xenophobia and intolerance.

    But as we know, such threats seem to be of a different type and quality, and are not ones that the security agencies like the GCSB and SIS would be directly concerned with. They do not fall under their authorities and functions, as the latter are more environmental and political threats.

    And the government is in charge of these agencies, so of course, there will be some “priorities” set by the government of the day, when assessing threats reported by its agencies. We know the priorities of Key and his gang and elite supporters.

    There are without doubt real threats, in both the upper and bottom list in this post.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 12.1
      5 November 2015 at 7:50 pm

      Missing from your list: the rule of law and human rights abuses: the NZ Law Society has warned the UN about this.

  13. Gael 13
    5 November 2015 at 9:47 pm

    Only one no one has picked up here yet which IMO biggest threat to our well being as an island nation is illegal fishing…. recent article on dead fish washing up in akl (sorry dont know how to link on my phone). Not to mention what hearsay russian factory ships have been doing in the Tasman 3side by side ships with nets from surface to floor taking everything. Nigeria used to have a fishery… now no fish and pirates instead because of hearsay same practices.

  14. johnm 14
    5 November 2015 at 9:51 pm

    1. Collapse of Industrial civilisation due to overpopulation, resource depletion ( peak oil and peak everything) a fundamentally fantasist financial order based on debt and endless money printing. And environmental severe accelerating decline due to over exploitation and climate change.

    2. Climate change may well be our end in a mere 30 years as we run out of habitat due to global average temp rises from 2-6c.

    Prof Dr. Guy McPherson:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y82B7b0bvME

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0pli8E9ic

  15. Murray Simmonds 15
    6 November 2015 at 7:11 am

    And we have Grosser telling us the deal will make billions for the country in additional trade opportunities over thirty years.

    Thirty years?

    I won’t be here, Grosser possibly won’t be here. J Key will probably be living in Hawaii,, if the rising sea level hasn’t gobbled up his property.

    In thiirty years time it will be an unimaginably different world from the one we are living in today.

    That means ALL bets are off, in my opinion.

    Though i suspect that johnm might just be right in his predictions.

  16. Mike the Savage One 16
    6 November 2015 at 9:44 pm

    I have tried to get up to date info via the web on the advantages of signing the TPPA, but find damned little. It shows the MSM are firmly aligned with government, what I read. I heard again on RNZ today that the gains will not be that great, about 200 million in extra trade. That is hardly a break through deal for N,Z, but the mantra by the compromised media seems to be it is all good. So we get this misinformation galore, and the people, who mostly do not bother digging deeper, they will take it for fact.

    This propaganda shit is the worst threat we have in NZ, the worst threat, but nobody in the middle class gets it, as they are fine and think fuck the rest.

  17. Gael 17
    8 November 2015 at 8:13 am

    Gee JohnM thanks for the vid links, great dead pan delivery so I watched a few more of his deliveries, which then sent me off on an internet search of my own (panicked somewhat for my small childs future). Fortunately I found this, this morning to balance things a little for those interested. https://fractalplanet.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/how-guy-mcpherson-gets-it-wrong/ Cheers