When the NZ State is spying on earthquake victims – when do you as citizens finally stand up?
This incredible exclusive by Paddy Gower at Newshub highlights an unbelievable abuse of power…
Government insurance company spied on earthquake victims
Taxpayer-funded private investigators spied on Christchurch earthquake victims, a Newshub investigation has found.
State-owned insurer Southern Response employed private investigators to snoop on claimants, gathering various types of information on them.
Newshub inquiries have forced the Government to set up an investigation, which was announced by the State Services Commission (SSC) at 11am today.
SSC Commissioner Peter Hughes says information he’s seen “raises questions around compliance with standards of integrity and conduct for State servants.”
Newshub notified the Minister for Christchurch, Megan Woods, who called in the State Services Commission.
Mr Hughes will set terms of reference for the inquiry by the end of next week.
…it’s fucking Thompson and Clark Investigations Ltd again, the corporate scum team who do dirty deeds for an arm and a leg.
They have a long and ugly history of targeting legitimate protest groups for State Agencies. They did the dirty on Greenpeace and for big oil and tried to frame protesters for Solid Energy.
These are the scum who tried to recruit an activist to spy on the community who turned out to be a Police informant already who revelled in naked photos of his girlfriend that he sent them…
Further in the emails sent by Rob Gilchrist to the police counter-terrorism units, was an email sent on 30/07/2005, containing naked photographs of a female and then teenage activist, sent with the subject line “needs a shave….”.
For obvious reasons of privacy, I will not release the photographs themselves or the details of the activist concerned. However I feel that this matter is of huge significance, since this brings into question whether police attitudes towards women have actually changed in the wake of the recent police rape trials, police pornography scandal, and subsequent recommendations by Dame Margaret Bazley.
There is no evidence that the police objected to the “needs a shave….” email, and clearly Rob Gilchrist had reason to believe that police would want to receive such an email. On the contrary, the fact that the police continued paying Rob Gilchrist $600 per week for over another 3 years, shows they did not view his conduct as grossly inappropriate.
Also discovered on Rob Gilchrist’s computer were naked photos of a then 16 year old activist, which look to have been taken while she was sleeping. Naturally, I am left wondering if those were forwarded to the police, and whether any photographs of a similar nature were taken of me and sent to the police.
Rob Gilchrist also had photographs on his computer he had taken of the previously mentioned 16 year old girl, and another 16 year old female activist, taken seperately, with them posing with his guns. This included shots of one of the said girls posing with one of Rob’s guns pointed to her head, and in her mouth. The photographs showed these girls in various outfits, including full camoflague, and some of one of them with a towel in her hair, clearly having just got out of the shower.
A rather large pornography collection with some disturbing videos and images was also present on Rob Gilchrist’s computer.
If at the time of our relationship I had had any knowledge of Rob Gilchrist’s sexist attitudes towards women, or his now obvious repeated interest in very young women, I would not have gone near him. The whole thing makes me feel sick.
This is the organisation that our State Agencies are hiring to do dirty work against our own people?
When the NZ State is spying on earthquake victims – when do you as citizens finally stand up?
Oh, no, not me, I am not part of it, I am innocent, I totally support government, I am loyal, do not look at me, please, I am ‘good’, go away, thanks, leave me alone, I could not care if my fellow countryman or woman get spied on, leave me alone.
That is the attitude of MOST Kiwis these days, I note it every day, it is shockingly sad, but it is the truth.
Most will turn away, or victim blame, that is the state of affairs after three terms of nasty National rule, and before that a weak, hypocritical Labour led government by Helen the careerist.
This country is in a shameful state of affairs.
oh yes, the pathetic mindless once again. I get it everyday too. They don’t know why but the Natz and bloody John Key can/could do no wrong. These dickheads are the real problem. Sam, keep it up mate were all together.
I totally agree.
I would add the words deceitful and dictatorial to your description of Helen Clark the hypocritical careerist.
I would also add that nastiness has characterized governments since the time of Muldoon.
Yes and the irony of Key,English and now Joyce all disappearing as more and more inquiries into the corrupt National government departmental strategies come to light. Resigning will not protect them, mongrels.
Yes you would’ve thought this would have been enough to rouse the sheeple from their sumber…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11417386
but alas the sheeple were in adulation of a political hypnotist who clearly ran for fear he would eventually be found out. He wa given the name of the “smiling assassin” for a reason.
The spying on behalf of a National government agency deserves more than a slap on the wrist, someone needs to go to prison. Now, who was the minister overseeing Southern Insurance?
I got “nothing to hide”, so it’s all good brah.
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nothing_to_hide
I think a more appropriate question is why has NZ ignored those of us who have been fighting the corrupt abuses of EQC for 7 years now and have been pointing it out all along. This is nothing new for those of us who have been heavied by ex-coppers trying to do us out of our legal rights and still are trying to at this point in time. The whole earthquake recovery mess deserves a royal commission of enquiry into all the corrupt practices by government, EQC, council and insurance companies and their many minions who took the money to screw the weak and poor. But guess what this government wont do that for the same reason the last government didnt stick to the law because it will cost many billions more. We have been angry for some time down here and quite frankly if Auckland got hit by volcanoes we would just say F**K you Auckland as we know how badly it would get screwed over by EQC – Remuera and big businesses would get a gold plated response and the rest would be left with the scraps and dont think it will be any better in Wellington after the big quake there thats coming.
But wait there is more! More EQC incompetence that will be exposed in the coming weeks that we are just starting to deal with now we are just waiting to see now Megan Woods handles these issues first – a real litmus test for this government!
Too many d..heads in our country saying nothing to see nothing to hide to hide bullshert this just shows what type of government we had ruling our country for nine years.
And even worse how many f..wits still voted for this lot (gnats) and think they are credible and good economic managers these people need their head read.
I like Megan Woods she goes for it they are lucky to have someone like her.
yeah but of course Megan will sign up for the TPP!
what does signing up to the TPP Michael have to do with the gnats spying on people who are traumatized and have munted houses from the earthquake?
Revictimising victims ? Are they spying to see what they can get on earthquake victims to see if there’s anything that they can use against them, and then explaining it away by claiming it’s a preventative measure in case some stressed earthquake victim snaps and does a shoot-up or something ?
If this is so, it is very bad.
If it is true, and if authorities are genuinely concerned that some of their victims may crack, then why on earth hasn’t counselling support, and adequate mental health support been provided to these unfortunate folk, instead of sneaking around behind their backs like a bunch of Enid Blyton characters gone terribly terribly wrong ?
Struggling to believe it.
This is the first I’m hearing about this. I check rnz, herald, stuff +TS regularly.
Fucking shocking.
It’s time middNew Zealander woke up to the realities of the surveillance state. Sooner or later everyone willl b watched. Everyone.
I’m sure Peter Hughes would know all about the ins and outs of this ILLEGAL spying (and other illegal and heinous stuff including invasion of privacy, illegal use of poisonous substances, bullying, ) going on against law abiding New Zealand citizens. Aye Peter?
Under TPPA foreign companies are able to by pass the NZ privacy legislation by holding NZ data offshore.
This is important for health records in particular as they offshore Health services.
It also means that foreign companies will get your data and then be free to sell it off worldwide.
From Greens,
“The overwhelming majority sets out the extra rights of these elite foreign investors to be free from government regulation. The e-commerce chapter effectively prevents public oversight of this century’s data driven economy. They get to store their data outside NZ to get around the Privacy Act for example. They get a guarantee that NZ will abstain from regulating all unknown future technologies.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/03/the-cptpp-deal-undermines-kiwis-best-interests.html
Most NZers health records and other private information can already be accessed unless like me they opted out of them being centralized you have to call them to tell them this otherwise they just go ahead. The justification was to help people if they presented at a hospital outside of the district they live in what a croxs.
It wasn’t only certain claimants of Southern Response that the government were spying on. They were also keeping a close eye on those remaining in the red Zone areas. Also some reported suspicious characters taking photos of people and ring leaders at the various public protests that were conducted in the city during the early days of the quakes – school closures, anti-democracy/CERA, TPPA, Red Zoning, EQC.