GUEST BLOG: Ross Meurant – Who to blame for Christchurch?
I find it a bit rich, my country blaming Australia for the recent Muslim massacre in Christchurch.
No stable mind could find any justification for this outrage.
Claims that Tarrant was inspired by his visits to Muslims countries and the prior mass killings by a latter-day Norwegian crusader, cannot, in my view, ameliorate the actions of what I deduce, was a one-off broken mind.
But when it comes to; ‘How did this happen in lovely leafy New Zealand?’, the emphasis by our politicians has emphatically laid blame at the door of, “an Australian who had no right to be in New Zealand”,
Tarrant did have every right to be in New Zealand, based on what our police and spies knew about him. But I’ll get this point soon.
Australians however, will be well aware of the persistent appearance of New Zealanders in Australian Courts for involvement in serios crimes of violence including murder.
In fact, as I recall reading Aussie media of recent times, the deportation of bandit Kiwis back to New Zealand, has been a hot political topic where New Zealand politicians have haemorrhaged outrage.
Perhaps we may soon read where politicians in New Zealand will start blaming the Norwegian for New Zealand’s greatest mass killings since the Maori Wars.
The aspect of these killings which, in my view is rapidly being swept under the carpet, is the failure of New Zealand GCSB (spies) and police intelligence units on both sides of the Tasman.
Anecdotal evidence abounds which demonstrates Tarrant was open in expressing his views among like-minded persons in Australia and New Zealand (particularly the South Island where since as far back as when I was a commissioned officer in charge of police criminal intelligence, a known right-wing radical element has endured).
I don’t for a moment suggest that people with right wing views are all about to emulate Tarrant. I say again: In my view he was a one-off broken mind.
But police spies should have been amongst these people.
In New Zealand, police actions of recent years demonstrate that they have been active amongst Maori activist, left wing environmentalists and journalist who dared to question the role of our Defence personnel in the Middle East.
This left leaning intelligence gathering is perhaps a legacy of anti-Springbok Tour radicals in 1981. Whatever. The facts are that the GCSB failed to identify Tarrant on line when others were able to do this. As a result, fifty people lost their lives.
Who to blame?
Ross Meurant is a former NZ Member of Parliament and before that, an inspector in the police in charge of the Auckland criminal intelligence and VIP security unit. He is the Honorary Consul for Morocco.
Ross is an international businessman and entrepreneur.
In New Zealand he is trustee and managing director of absentee Russian owned forestry and commercial property.
From 2004 he lived and worked in Zimbabwe, Russia, Czech Republic, Thailand and the Balkans.
Since 2005 Ross has established business interests in aqua culture and fisheries development – from Morocco to Syria: U.A.E and North Korea.
In 2015 Ross was prime speaker on sustainable fisheries as guest of the Moroccan government at CRANZ Montana ‘Sustainable Resources: Africa’ conference, and an official guest at the 2017 forum.
A former Member of Parliament (1987–1996) and Member and the Executive Council of New Zealand in the National government, Ross was Under Secretary (junior minister) Agriculture & Forestry; Cabinet Committee Industry & Commerce & Chair Select Committee Fisheries.
Subsequent to parliament, he owned equestrian facilities; was elected to local government as a councillor; consulted to several major fishing companies, was engaged by parliamentary services as adviser to Rt. Hon Winston Peters and emerged as a key figure in the Scampi Affair, which falsely alleged political corruption.
Prior to entering parliament, Ross had been 21 years in the police. Service included: detective on Regional Crime Squad and Drug Squad; 5 years Armed Offenders Squad, second in command of the infamous Red Squad, and commissioned officer in charge of police spies i.e. Criminal Intelligence Section and V.I.P. Security.
Ross has a bachelor degree in politics and management, a master’s degree in economics, statistics, law and policy and C.O.P’s in law.
In 2016 Ross was appointed Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of Morocco.
The only reason for security is security for the government against the people of New Zealand. This is the joke of a supposed 4th estate made up of professional journalists who are supposed to hold the government to account. For decades now politicians, right wing guest are allowed to outnumber left wing guests. I remember when Snowden was giving his speech which confirmed that John Key had directed the GCSB to spy on New Zealanders and all the media could do is act as adjuncts of the National Party. I don’t want to wast any ones time by listing how many times commercial media has let one by the National Party but there are a lot of cases like this. If the Prime Minister directs the GCSB and ISIS against an Internet tycoon and brakes every law in the process at the behest of the Prime Ministers rich Hollywood mates and can’t direct New Zealand’s Security apparatus into defending the governments own people well, then that ought to be all over every headline.
Suggest an apolitical classical model intelligence service. Gather info from reliable sources, that info analysed, conclusions drawn. The far right in En Zed, neo-Nazis, skinheads, biker gangs are not noted for sophisticated organisation.
“The only reason for security is security for the government against the people of New Zealand.”
Latter quote indicates- in a western democratic state- a naive, opportunistic misunderstanding, perhaps calculated of the proper use of an intelligence service.
In 1588 Francis Walsingham gave Elizabeth l’s Council the order-of-battle of the Spanish Armada. This allowed her navy to ambush them in the English Channel. The rest is history!
Intelligence, ask the Israelis about the Six Day War, allowed David to defeat multiple Goliaths!
Intelligence allowed Kennedy to call Kruschev’s bluff over the Cuban Missile Crisis in ‘63!
There is intelligent political oversight in a western democratic state!
Well I think the French GIGN and the DGSD has got it pretty much correct after decades even centuries of combating small guerrilla forces from Moroccan independence to ISIS today. There legislation allows them to infiltrate terror cells both internationally and domestically, they even have video footage of terrorist not even knowing they’re being filmed stock picking weapons in other European countries that are intended for strikes in France.
Of course preventative measures can only go so far but in 2016 as part of an increased terror alert French soldiers deployed as part of the response spoiled a robbery at a McDonalds, GIGN operators armed but in plain clothes just waited outside for the perps to leave the restaurant to avoid a shoot out in a restaurant and just chased them down, perps tried shooting it out with them, one shot centre mass put that idea down pretty hard.
So if we had of defined terrorism as the French do, perhaps we would have increased our terror alert so that our own SAS where deployable with in minutes of all major thoroughfares in New Zealand only to wait for Brenton to come out of the first mosque attack, only to take what he had learnt to the second mosque.
And the French Military was able to put down an ISIS inspired coup in North Africa. I just don’t think we have what it takes any more, I just don’t think we make a Ross Meurant type of ass kicking any more. Since 1990 every bureaucracy in New Zealand has been infected by neoliberal millennials who just grew up to good. So do I think the SIS and GCSB is infected with this strain of neoliberal well yeah, I do think that. It would be extra ordinary if they didn’t, just look at Rebeca Kitteridge, she’s got as much intelegence as the CIA handbook on how to treat China, I mean if you’d want to nurture Pholosopher Kings well that’s one position that denotes Intellegence, don’t you think.
I think we’d be much better off learning from The French on these matters than trying to rebuild The SIS, GCSB and police.
Reminds me of the Erebus Crash and the Enquiry lead by Sir Robert Muldoon, I still do this day don’t understand why someone would change the flight path of the plane and not instruct the pilot ?
Worse still destroy important documents and break into the pilots house and steal his diaries ?
Wine Box Enquiry likewise ?