Robertson Grant: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRobertson Grant: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9441. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Leader—Labour) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by his statement on 24 September 2012 in relation to the work of the GCSB “I think you can take confidence in the fact that to the best of my knowledge I’ve never been informed or ever had reason to believe there’s ever been an error before”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Grant Robertson: Why did he not mention at his media conference on 24 September that there were unresolved issues about possible spying as he was told in July 2012 by Ian Fletcher the Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Because the context of the statement I made was in the context of illegal spying. It was correct then and it remains correct now.Grant Robertson: Did he say to the Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau Ian Fletcher in July 2012 that he regarded the possibility of unlawful spying as a serious situation and that it needed to be resolved as he said on Radio New Zealand this week?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As I have said before in July when the matter was raised with me by Ian Fletcher I did say to him it was a very serious matter and that he needed to get a resolution to that issue. I would make the point that at no point did the inspector-general actually raise the issue with me; neither did he suggest to the agencies they should cease operations.Grant Robertson: If it was such a serious situation why when he was asked six times at the media conference on 24 September as to whether he had ever had any concerns about unlawful spying did he not mention that this was flagged to him by the Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau in July 2012?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: For the reason I gave—that the press conference was in relation to illegal spying. What is true is that by that point we had identified that there had been illegal spying in the case of Mr Dotcom. Also correct are all of the other statements I made that there was no other illegal spying nor are we currently aware of other illegal spying. It is very important to understand that the inspector-general is considering those matters at the moment. They are unresolved.Louise Upston: Can the Prime Minister tell the House how the Government plans to strengthen oversight of our intelligence agencies?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I can. The Government is proposing to significantly strengthen the oversight of our intelligence agencies. Among the changes we intend to make are the following: increasing the resourcing and staffing of the inspector-general’s office including creating a new role of Deputy Inspector-General; explicitly expanding the inspector-general’s programme of making the office work more transparent; removing the requirement that the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security should be a retired High Court judge—this will increase the pool of people who can do the job—and making the inspector-general’s office more proactive by increasing the requirements of the office and moving it a step forward from the existing review-focused work programme. These are all important changes that we need to make as we move towards rebuilding public confidence in the Government Communications Security Bureau. I would have thought they would be worth supporting by the Labour Party.Grant Robertson: How is it as he has said “a prudent course of action” to ignore what he said was a serious situation of New Zealanders potentially being illegally spied upon do nothing about that and fail to mention it when asked direct questions?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is incorrect. For a start-off these activities had been undertaken for a very long period of time. Secondly—[Interruption] Yes potentially while Mr Robertson was in the Prime Minister’s office. Secondly a flag was raised and work was being undertaken. I made it clear to the director that he needed to keep me informed of that. I go back to this fundamental point: at no point did the inspector-general the person who was doing the thinking in this area raise the issue with me; neither did he suggest to the agencies they should cease operations.Louise Upston: Can the Prime Minister outline for the House why other agencies like the Police the SIS and the New Zealand Defence Force need assistance from the Government Communications Security Bureau?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I can. The bureau has unique skills and capabilities that the other agencies do not have. Those agencies need to access these high-quality skills and capabilities for a variety of reasons all of which are vital. At this time assistance to the Police and the SIS in relation to New Zealanders remains halted. Some assistance to other agencies has resumed and only where the Crown Law Office has advised it is lawful to do so. This includes assistance to the New Zealand Defence Force. Government Communications Security Bureau support may contribute to non-combative evacuation operations humanitarian aid disaster relief and monitoring ofillegal activities throughout New Zealand’s search and rescue areas. These activities are important examples of the role the bureau plays. I would have thought these would be the sorts of things that Labour would be interested in voting for.Grant Robertson: Why did he not tell the truth in September about what he knew about potentially unlawful—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The way that question has been framed has clearly led to disorder. Would the member just rephrase the question without reference to a Minister telling the truth.Grant Robertson: Can he understand why New Zealanders do not believe him about the Government Communications Security Bureau saga when he did not tell the truth to them in September 2012?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No and given the forensic analysis that Mr Robertson goes through—they must be interesting the conversations he has with Mr Shearer about his forgetfulness about his bank—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Grant Robertson: In July 2012 did Ian Fletcher raise with him a flag about possible unlawful spying and why when asked about that by the media with almost those exact words in September 2012 did he not mention Mr Fletcher raising that with him?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I feel that it is repetition but as I have said the statement was made in September about the context of illegal spying. It was correct then and it remains correct now. Those matters are unresolved. The inspector-general is looking at those issues but no decision has been made.