The NZDF, the Key administration & the corruption of our intelligence system
Kiwipolitico makes a good observation on Key’s involvement in spying on Hager…
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified its request by arguing that it was investigating potential espionage, although it turns out that it was actually looking for the NZDF source of leaks to Mr. Hager. This occurred when John Key was the Minister of Intelligence and Security, Warren Tucker was SIS Director and LTG Rhys Jones was Chief of the NZDF . Did the SIS and NZDF go rogue or were these individuals aware of the spying?
…let’s not forget that also in 2011, Key’s Office colluded with the SIS to falsely smear Phil Goff months before the election. Key went on to reward the SIS and GCSB with unlimited power through mass surveillance and a huge increase in budgets.
Remember:
- National gave the Police vast new retrospective surveillance powers
- National rammed through legislation under urgency allowing the State to force civil telecommunication companies to build backdoors to their networks and not tell their customers that the State had breached their privacy.
- National rammed through legislation under urgency allowing the State to spy on NZers
- The GCSB went from $80m to $140m in budget per year
- The SIS were ‘rewarded’ with a huge increase in powers and budget.
- Expansion of Warrantless spying
And National gave these security agencies even more powers that will allow…
- The GCSB and SIS to break any law.
- Allow the GCSB and SIS to give immunity to any other State Agency they deputise.
- Empower the GCSB to move from being simply technical support to running their own investigations.
- Imprison anyone who reveals illegal Government spying to the Public.
The NZDF have spent years lying to NZ, they attempted to smear Jon Stephenson and they were outed last week using the SIS to illegally spy on Nicky Hager.
It should surprise no one that this ramping up of powers under Key also coincided with abuse of powers by those intelligence agencies.
This can all seem benign when someone like Jacinda Ardern is in power, but imagine these powers deployed by a Leader with few scruples.
“$80m to $140m” and that’s the b/s right there , more trough feeding shit. Exobenrent salary increases the latest and the greatest equipment , prolly a 60 inch 4k tv in there somewhere , a#$holes
Yes young corrupted Johnny Key is a scalawag alright no doubt Martyn.
His life is jagged with doggy dealing’s, to using secret public funds to attend the shady “Billderberg group annual meeting 2011/12 as NZ Prime Minister” without telling the public voter in the NZ Nation.
John Key is a street fighter from the wall street days; – as a financial hedge fund trader.
So we had to expect this type of”scrapper” to use his position to circumvent the facts in his favour.
John Key needs to be script of that phony knight-hood, as he was found to be corrupt all the way up to “the Panama Papers” scandal.
“… imagine these powers deployed by a Leader with few scruples.” I’m not sure why you say “imagine”, when we do not have to imagine, because we believe that it may have actually happened.
And, in my patchy following of the belated inquiry into the NZDF injuring, maiming, and killing poor subsistence farmers, and elderly people, and little children, by dead of night, up in the beautiful Hindu Kush, I am saying to myself, Please God don’t let it be that Wayne Mapp is protecting John Key.
I think it was in, “Other People’s Wars,” that I learned that the NZDF shared accommodation with the CIA in Kabul, which renders even more ludicrous, any suggestion that the good man Hager was involved in espionage damaging to New Zealand’s interests. Excuse me ? Whose interests has this country been acting in over the past decade ?
I am proud of Hager and Stephenson, and the country-wide group of young folk who have driven the impetus to have honour returned to NZ, and restoring our once-good name. But there is a certain conundrum in trying to ascertain the shades of difference between selling one’s soul to the devil, and selling it to the USA.
A very good synopsis chronology, Bomber.
Devoid as your lexicon is on this occasion of its often frequent use of imprecations; the more powerful is your message.
But your faith in Jacinda as a rein on the plundering hooves of our guardians, is I suggest, misplaced.
She may be luvly but she is no Helen Clark and with the following three disciples with whom to contend?
Andrew Little and Stuart Nash and that chap from NZ First who parades as Defence Minister, based on my experience as an MP and before that police inspector in charge of spies; appear to be three who have followed the well trodden path of MP’s captured by the cultures of the Guardians they monitor.
Without support of her ministers, to rein in the rampant beast of “security”, rule of the Guardians will not be corralled.
Was it not Voltaire who said: Beware of the words “internal security,”
for they are the eternal cry of the oppressor.
“But your faith in Jacinda as a rein on the plundering hooves of our guardians, is I suggest, misplaced.
She may be luvly but she is no Helen Clark..”
Mr M, I respect your opinion as to Jacinda’s strengths and the limits of these, but I believe they are formed too soon. We don’t yet know what Jacinda is capable of in terms of longer term personal strength, courage, determination, perseverance, personal authority, astuteness, etc. She herself would not yet know those limits, as it is just too soon for anyone to make such judgement calls, I believe.
To some of us witnessing what has already happened, her achievements so far have been quite extraordinary. She has some sort of effect on others which are difficult to even define. Even the most intractable. …Including world leaders, world social media heads, religious leaders and more.
Many political ‘pundits’ thought Andrew Little was quite daft when he stood down for her in the first instance. Time has shown that call was not made in error.
Come on Country Boy, I need cheering up. Power will be execised, nay abused no matter who is the PM…
Key would have a problem lying straight in bed IMHO ?