If this Bill is an attempt to bring the spooks out of the shadows then at the very least it should go to a proper parliamentary select committee for public hearings, not the statutory committee which was set up to keep intelligence activities out of the spotlight. The Bill claims to establish the GCSB beyond doubt as a legitimate agent of government yet there is no reference in the Bill or the glossy publication to the very agreement which led to the GCSB s establishment the UK USA agreement a highly secret document which leaves many New Zealanders suspicious that the GCSB is actually an outpost for American signals intelligence rather than the claimed independent source of information. Our concerns about the extent of American control were backed up when we were briefed by the Bureau s director Warren Tucker. He admitted that the GCSB had not paid for the research and development of its recently installed voice interception system and that the GCSB has staff stationed in Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia, as part of the UK USA alliance. The Bill s definition and objectives are interesting.
Foreign organisation includes any overseas company or subsidiary of an overseas company.
This includes companies operating in New Zealand. Foreign person means any individual who is neither a New Zealand citizen nor a permanent resident which includes over 50,000 Aussies and over 60,000 overseas visitors at any time. Foreign intelligence means information about the capabilities, intentions or activities of a foreign organisation or a foreign person. One objective of the GCSB is to contribute to national security by providing foreign intelligence that the Government requires to protect and advance New Zealand s economic well being to the extent that it is affected by the actions or intentions of foreign organisations or persons. In the interests of our international well being, did it advise against Tommy Suharto being allowed to buy the Lily Bank station.