Labour has a bob each way

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Andrew-Little

Refusing to back sending New Zealand troops to Iraq is a welcome, ethical stance from Labour. Andrew Little made good solid points yesterday to back up this decision and he and Labour should be applauded.

The party seems to have learnt from their disastrous decision to join the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan back in 2001 and since then have been much more principled and realistic about sending our soldiers to foreign lands to fight and die for US interests.

But their support for our domestic, and, through “five eyes”, international, spy legislation has always been woeful and Labour confirmed this yesterday with support for John Key’s warrantless surveillance of New Zealanders. Labour claims major concessions from Key in return for their support for new attacks on our civil liberties but these amendments are
minor cosmetic changes to an ugly law.

Like our other spy legislation there are holes big enough to drive a bus through it sideways and as we know the spy agencies will exploit those loopholes as they always have.

Labour has never put up principled resistance to the extension of search and surveillance powers from the establishment of the Waihopai spy base in the 1980s – under Labour leader David Lange – to the plethora of legislation passed under Helen Clark which dramatically escalated the powers and resources of our external spy agency the GCSB (Government
Communications Security Bureau) and the internally focused SIS (Security Intelligence Service).

After September 11 Labour’s justification for dealing body blows to our civil liberties was the need to respond to UN requests for enhanced surveillance but that was only a tiny part of the legislation the party drove through parliament. Most of the dozen or so laws were put in place at the behest of the US as the dominant member of the “five eyes” alliance
so New Zealand would open up this country and our Pacific neighbours to US global surveillance. The US objectives in all this were neatly summed up in the Edward Snowden-leaked NSA document which gave the US objectives as “collect it all, process it all, exploit it all, partner it all, sniff it all and know it all”.

Our GCSB and SIS are now one important step closer to this US objective.

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Like most of its predecessor legislation the latest SIS bill has nothing to do with New Zealand security and a whole lot more to do with New Zealand support for the “five eyes” alliance which links our GCSB and SIS to US global political and military strategies.

It’s a pity Labour has spoiled its principled stance of opposition to New Zealand troops being sent overseas by toadying to US interests here at home where we make our greatest contribution to the US empire.

9 COMMENTS

  1. I agree that Labour’s agreement to the Bill allowing warrantless surveillance and restriction of travel of New Zealand citizens is a great disappointment. That they have had some concessions made to reduce the period of surveillance from 48 to 24 hours and others are not that important when there is no justification for the Bill’s proposals, and they heavily impinge on our human rights.

    It’s to their great shame that they are by their actions allowing the expansion of the global surveillance state.

  2. Labour hates and fears the activist left, particularly Maori activists. They can stay out of foreign wars quite happily, but they can’t stop spying on those they fear at home. After all, what they want is a chance to be “responsible and trustworthy” administrators of the state. They can prove their loyalty to the 1% without openly going to war, but not without the secret squirrel stuff. They make me sick.

  3. I am not at all surprised, Labour has always tried to have a bob each way, and they will not change. Andrew Little got a bit of a honeymoon start in his leadership role, but I can already see the media hacks getting ready to take him to pieces.

    Andrew Little is more solid and straight talking than the “leaders” we had over recent years within Labour, but he is also aligned with those that are very stoic and bureaucratic in some ways, within Labour. Earn your place and you will get it, seems to be their philosophy.

    I do yet have to see anything really inspiring from Andrew Little, and while I was a bit more pleasantly surprised about his performance last week, I can see it wearing off, and him being the target that the Nats have been dreaming off, to “win” another fourth term. It will be all about “angry Andrew” and “union Andrew”, and his personal straight line, that is still to be found in some ways, may prove to be the downfall of Little.

    Compromising on the SIS law reforms now, that is not what I welcome, it is a serious disappointment. Even NZ First have not gone that far, to support Key and the government, why the hell did Little have to fall in line on this?

    No, Labour has not changed much, apart from yet another leader, the Greens seem more appealing to me, and if not them, there may be other options.

    We are still waiting for Labour to learn from their “review” of the election, but little is forthcoming. Like with Cunliffe, the “new leader” will fade into the insignificance over coming months, over the Christmas and New Year and holiday period, and afterwards, the media vultures will look for targets to hit.

    I fear we will just have another repeat of what we had with Shearer, Cunliffe et al.

  4. Yes very disappointed in Little over the bill. I think Labour thought that being part of the process would dilute it (which it did) but they fundamentally don’t understand that participating in an obviously undemocratic process is a kin to supporting it. They should just say We do not agree like NZ First and even better Greens NO NO NO. I thought people were dreaming when they said NZ First could take over Labour as next main party – but Labour just doesn’t get it and are so easily manipulated by National and MSM – it’s becoming more likely. I don’t really want to turn on Little and be part of the problem, but again I don’t think Labour realizes that Kiwi’s like principals and consistency. 24 hours of spying is akin to 48 hours. Cut the Crap if any thinks there is much difference. I think Key’s BBQ persona is now eroded after being on txting terms with mentally ill hate mongering Slater so if Little could come into the ‘Cut the Crap’ he will resonate with the public. Unfortunately coming to terms with Cut the Crap and NationalLite policy like spying on Kiwis doesn’t work. Sometimes I wonder Do any of these politicians have any ethics or is it all some sort of compromise of ethics every time. Labour needs to get some basic principals. It is actually there human rights policies that are alarming their liberal (ex) voters.

  5. I know many on the left like the UN, but I’m starting to have real doubts about it as an organisation working in the best interests of working people. Indeed, I find that the resolutions it has past in the last few months are beyond worrying, and into the realms of frightening.

  6. It’s a shame but we have to face the facts that when it comes to the BIG game Labour is a pawn in the game of overseas power brokers and the insane war machine cash cow. We have seen this down the years always the same thing. Until we have fearless leaders standing for sane rational ethical behavior ……….. Oh wait a minute – one problem 80% of the population have become brainwashed, greedy and mean spirited ………. Solution a new/old free State of Aotearoa – a collection of people who do not subscribe to this corrupt system and want a new one.
    Labour wants to win back support in the corrupt twisted system… adjusting to fit a broken system will only lead to a continuation of a broken system.

    Maybe its time to ‘secede’ – start a new …… Viva la Revolution ….

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