Ghahraman GolrizGOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN (Green): It's no secret that the Green Party has had a complicated relationship with the Intelligence and Security Committee. For almost 20 years Green Party MPs have been calling in this House for this committee to be reformed; for it to much more closely reflect other select committees in Parliament in transparency accountability and membership; for it to move away from operating as a secret meeting reflecting the old days of first past the post; and for it to much more represent and honour the realities and intentions of MMP. That is why we're endorsing the membership of the committee before the House today. We're really pleased that the Prime Minister has chosen to include representatives from every party on this side of the House. It is unfortunate that National has chosen not to include ACT Party leader David Seymour so that every party in Parliament could be represented.Despite that the make-up of the committee being endorsed today is a victory for us. There are representatives from every parliamentary party with more than one MP and it's roughly in proportion to the number of MPs each party has in the House. During the latest update of the Intelligence and Security Act last year we got an amendment to the membership clause that requires now that the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have regard to the proportionality of parties represented in Parliament. It is a joy to see that come to fruition today.We had hoped for a bigger committee to more closely mirror the other parliamentary committees but we're heartened that the current size of the committee is as big as it can be with the constraints of the Act as its stands. The Green Party believes that this is a healthier more democratic and more balanced representation that will in turn provide more robust oversight of agencies that otherwise operate under a cloak of secrecy. It means that the committee is now likely to have a broader range of views represented on it including those who are questioning or sceptical of the methods and activities of New Zealand's intelligence agencies.We were last members of this committee through our then co-leader Russel Norman in 2014 during a time most New Zealanders will remember was very controversial for New Zealand's security agencies. As a member of this committee we did our best to ensure that the committee operated as a true watchdog. The Green Party sought among other things an inquiry into John Key's appointment of Ian Fletcher as the head of the GCSB. We asked for an inquiry into the Five Eyes network and we were the only member of the committee who asked questions about the financial reviews of the GCSB and SIS. That is what effective oversight looks like.And there's room for more reform. In other jurisdictions committees like this operate with far more members far more independence in their oversight. We'd like to see for example the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security become an Officer of Parliament like the Auditor-General or the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment who report to this House of Representatives rather than the executive alone.The Green Party intends to be an effective member of this committee to do our best to give the public much better oversight of the security and services than we have seen in the past. We will bring cautious and at times sceptical scrutiny of the committee's work and the spy agencies' activities. We will also treat our responsibility on the committee with appropriate discipline and the code of conduct that is required.We are pleased to accept the Prime Minister's nomination onto the committee and we will be voting for the motion.