It’s almost insane isn’t it?
The GCSB get caught out illegally spying on Kim Dotcom, and because he is a multi-millionaire with a multi-millionaire’s legal team, they shake the truth out of the Government and it turns out 85 other NZers have also been illegally spied on by an agency whose only focus was supposed to be foriegn threats.
Let’s not forget before we proceed that the Act creating the GCSB forbade the spy agency to ever spy on NZers and MP after MP all stood in Parliament solemnly promising empty assurances that this purpose built Eye of Mordor would never be turned upon its own citizens.
But those words were hollow. Hidden deep inside the Act was a tiny loophole that went against the entire spirit of the GCSB Act, and it is through this loophole that our GCSB as illegally used that vast power to spy on us.
So how do you think John Key has responded to such grievous abuses of NZers civil rights? Who are the people illegally spied upon? Who will be held accountable for this?
The solution Key is offering goes beyond satire.
Not only will all of the previous illegal spying all be swept under the crept, Key intends to expand the GCSB to legally spy on a vast numbers of NZers and he is going to ram it all through Parliament complete with some pretense at better scrutiny with a 3rd panel member to make NZ First look like they’ve done the right thing.
Feeling safe yet?
The Act dramatically refocuses the GCSB away from foreign intelligence agencies powers, which was it’s justification for existing in the first place, by simply dumping foreign intelligence from it’s list of responsibilities. The focus now is on national security with the Orwellian double speak of “economic well-being” being the code word to put any group who challenges the neoliberal corporate paid economic structure.
Someone who reads this blog would fall into that category.
The 3 new functions are so broad you could now legally spy on the entire city of Christchurch. “Information assurance and cybersecurity”, “Intelligence gathering and analysis”, and “Cooperation with other entities”. This is from a focus only on foreign intelligence to everyone in NZ with a computer.
What is unnerving is the ability to not specifically name someone in the warrant. It can be activists and union members or anyone part of a collective that may be challenging the free market.
The really chilling part are the new penalties for any GCSB staff who speak out against what the agency is doing.
Make no mistake – John Key’s new GCSB spying powers are a sharp goose step towards a casual Police State.
The Eye of Mordor can now spy on the Shire and we’ve just let Key do it. There can be no justifications about granting the State this amount of unfettered power over our lives.
For a nation that screamed Nanny State over the right to smack your kids, it is astonishing that we would so quietly acquiesce to Big Brother.
Great article. This government has been ramming all sorts of laws and law changes that go against the good of the Nation, in favour of the business sector, especially big business. Anti worker employment laws, anti environment laws, pro animal cruelty laws, the list just goes on and on. He’s just not wonky, he’s very, very shonky is our John Key. Would I call him an untrustworthy liar? Would I call him a thief and a fence, for selling off businesses that belong to the citizens of this nation, without their permission? Would I call him a f…..g little s..t for his comments about the Capital city? Well, without fear of being accused of defamation, I say…
Someone please help me out by answering this question: what has this government done to ensure or improve public well-being? Something I can ponder and the answer eludes me. I can think of many examples of private and corporate well-being though.
Along with many examples of pure disdain for the public of this country and now extensive spying (what do they fear of us?), suggests this isn’t a government for the good of the nation, but an occupation.
That’s easy, John Key, like some sort of NZ Superman, has stopped multiple counts of domestic terrorism and stopped terrorists getting their hands on our blueprints for WMDs (‘cos we have loads of those, apparently: Australia better watch their back, cos we got WMDs). Without the powers of GCSB facility, Key won’t be able to save our kids from all the evil doers (like Bomber). We need to think about the children here – they need to grow up to be docile and easily manipulated little consumers, leveraged to hilt in debt so the banksters can keep skimming off their labour without question or consequence.
Does the GCSB have some unequivocal, clear evidence that Key has been lying about his involvement in the Dotcom case all along…and is therefore blackmailing him?
Alternatively, perhaps Key is just an ignorant dickhead.
Probably both options. But Yes! He is a dickhead.
how much influence is the US having on this consideringt Key,s penchant for selling out to them
[…] If you have nothing to hide, you still have plenty to fear about the new GCSB laws. […]
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