Waatea News Column: State Spying on Māori, environmentalists and activists requires immediate response
The astonishing announcement by State Service Commissioner Peter Hughes that many Government Departments have been illegally spying on New Zealander’s via corporate spying company Thompson & Clark is a dark obscenity to the democracy we believe in.
The sheer scale and scope of the spying is jaw dropping in its audacity. From former wards of the state who were sexually assaulted and spied on so MSD could attack them in Court when they attempted to seek damages to Greenpeace, the MANA Party, the Green Party and Iwi who protested against oil exploration.
How many times are we told by the State that they need these intrusive new powers of spying to protect us from foreign terrorists and domestic organised crime when in fact they are used against who they’ve always been used against, Māori, environmentalists and social justice activists.
Since when were Māori who protested against possible pollution of their land a security threat that required military grade surveillance?
If the mainstream media had spent as much time on this story as they did over the outrage of a Māori Santa, we’d have some accountability, unfortunately we haven’t seen that focus to date. Let’s hope there is an attempt at some basic journalism in 2019 so that the State agencies involved in spying illegally on us the people are held to account.
The State needs to come clean on who it has been spying on domestically and the rational for the spying otherwise they appear to be a Stazi type operation operating at the whim of their bosses and influential political forces ?
The threat is the NSA because NSA hackers managed to destroy an Iranian nuclear facility with a computer virus. They punched first, now the whole west has to harden the networks against attacks. And to do that they have to lie about it and come up with boogymen just to justify their fuck ups.
I’ve known for many years (since the 1980s?) that the mainstream media don’t have the word “investigative” in their vocabulary, but these new revelations that they’re not even interested in state scandals that are right under their noses… Well, you’re right, it’s as if any diversion or distraction will do. Precious little hope for an informed citizenry on this issue that is crucial to our democracy, especially with the stupid season due to last the next month or two.
the state has been spying on us for decades, regardless of who was in power. The good news is they still haven’t got any smarter about it they still get caught out. wear it as a badge of honour, if they don’t have a file on you, your not an activist
After Billy and keys got tired and gave up, Finlayson took over as GCSB Minster. Now it’s Andrew little. But unlike like the first too Andrew didn’t get tired and quit.
Public life isn’t for every one. Most quit, some give up in a holy smoke of loser talk. It should brake your little heart knowing we don’t have any more losers running the GCSB, they’d never be able to confront themselves.
The SIS spied on Kiwis for many years, burgled there homes, followed them in the streets and even brought false charges against them.
Bill Sutch a stalwart public servant and brilliant architect of policy, upset our corrupt right wing donkeys so was framed by the SIS.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/dr-w-b-sutch