Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeShearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 09 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9116. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.DAVID SHEARER (Leader of the Opposition) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Acting Prime Minister): Yes.David Shearer: In light of his statement that Rebecca Kitteridge was the right person to carry out the Government Communications Security Bureau review because “The simple facts of life are the GCSB made some pretty bad mistakes when it came to this Kim Dotcom case. We cannot and I will not tolerate a repeat of them.” why does the Kitteridge report not include findings on illegal spying on Kim Dotcom?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I think the member should wait until he has viewed the report. The report fulfils the terms of reference set out for Ms Kitteridge and it canvasses all the relevant issues. The issues around Kim Dotcom have been canvassed extensively through the courts.David Shearer: Given the findings of the Kitteridge report and the implications for other intelligence agencies does he now accept that there needs to be a fully independent inquiry across all our security agencies; if not why not?Hon BILL ENGLISH: No the Government is not looking at a formal independent inquiry right across. In fact the Prime Minister has been working with the intelligence agencies to make change since the time that he took office because I think he became aware they were not in a state to deal with the new sorts of threats or as has now become apparent to deal with the level of legal compliance that they ought to be able to deal with.David Shearer: Given that he claims to have first found out about the illegal spying on 17 December 2012 was he briefed on the outcome of discussions within the Government Communications Security Bureau with Paul Neazor about the ongoing legality of his agency’s spying in May 2012; if not why not?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I simply cannot answer that question on behalf of the Prime Minister. I do not have the information.David Shearer: Given his statement that major breaches in Government databases have been simple human error does he believe that the information relating to the victims of crime needs to be held in a secure database; if not why not?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am not exactly sure what the member is referring to but if he is referring to some publicity today around an attempt to hack the Ministry of Justice that attempt failed.David Shearer: Why is confidential Ministry of Justice information able to be accessed by a member of the public?Hon Judith Collins: It’s not.Hon BILL ENGLISH: I can only take the advice of the relevant Minister who says that it is not. But the issues the member is raising are issues that underline the importance of having our intelligence agencies in good shape with updated law and technology so that they along with Government departments can combat that kind of behaviour.David Shearer: Following privacy breaches at the Earthquake Commission the Department of Corrections the Ministry of Social Development ACC the Inland Revenue Department Work and Income Novopay Housing New Zealand the Ministry of Education the Medical Council and now the Ministry of Justice when will the Prime Minister act to make sure that New Zealanders’ personal details are not being revealed?Hon BILL ENGLISH: He certainly acted before the Leader of the Opposition revealed—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon BILL ENGLISH: —his personal details about his bank account in New York.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That sort of answer will not help the order of the House. Would the Deputy Prime Minister please address the question.Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Prime Minister has acted. There has been an extensive review of the data-security procedures in all Government agencies. I think what has become apparent is that these kinds of events have almost certainly been going on for many years but now they are drawing public attention and are unacceptable to the public. I can tell that member that the audit of security processes followed by agencies showed that under the previous Labour Government nothing was done. Many of them had no procedures whatsoever and that is why the Government has to move decisively to upgrade those procedures.Rt Hon Winston Peters: How can the public have any confidence in the assurances that have just been given when the first thing that happened to the Kitteridge report was that it was leaked?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I think it is a more serious issue than the member is giving it credit for. Front-line public servants do need to understand that they will have to follow procedures with email that ensure that they do not email large amounts of information to the wrong place.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question is fairly basically about how we can have any confidence with the answers that the Prime Minister’s stand-in has given when in fact the first thing that happened was that the Kitteridge report was leaked. That is pretty serious. I want him to explain that not everything else that was ancillary to—Mr SPEAKER: Would the member please repeat his question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: How can the public have any confidence in the assurances that the Prime Minister is giving today when the first thing that happened to the Kitteridge report was that it was leaked?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The assurances that have been given are that the Government is taking action. We cannot yet give the assurance that public servants and their organisations have the correct procedures in place to protect all individual information.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can he give the House an assurance that the leak did not come from any staff in the Prime Minister’s office; if so what or who does he believe to be the source of this very serious leak?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I can give that assurance. There is no reason at all why the Prime Minister’s department would behave in that way. In fact as the member will know the Prime Minister intended to release the report on his return from China next year and present it to—Hon Members: Next year!Hon BILL ENGLISH: —next week—and present it to the Intelligence and Security Committee which he would have been scheduled to attend and release it afterwards.