The Director of the GCSB reports directly to the Minister in charge of the GCSB, traditionally the Prime Minister. The current Director, Dr Warren Tucker, is a professional engineer. Dr Tucker began his career with the GCSB in 1982. From 1996 to 1999, he was the Intelligence Coordinator in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet before taking up his present position at the end of 1999. The GCSB s head office is in the Freyberg Building in Aitken Street, Wellington.
Cryptography is a highly specialised task demanding skills in mathematics and computer science.
The operation of the GCSB is directed solely by the New Zealand Government. It is, however, a member of a long-standing collaborative international partnership for the exchange of foreign intelligence and the sharing of communications security technology. New Zealand gains considerable benefit from this arrangement, as it would be impossible for New Zealand to generate the effectiveness of the five nation partnership on its own. Legislative Status for the GCSB Unlike the SIS, the GCSB does not have its own Act of Parliament. This anomaly has been addressed with the recent introduction of the Government Communications Security Bureau Bill.