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PoliticsDecember 20, 2018

How the NZ state enabled oppressive and systematic Stasi-like surveillance

Guest writer

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The report on Thompson and Clark revealed seven government departments have engaged with a spy agency that acted unlawfully. It seems no one was safe from being spied on if they disagreed with government policy, and this should be a Watergate moment, writes Greenpeace’s Russel Norman.

Around the beginning of 2017, Greenpeace received leaked information indicating that oil companies we’d opposed had contracted spies to watch staff and volunteers on almost a daily basis, and that it had been going on for years.

We’d been followed home, tailed in our personal time, and had our privacy breached in many ways. It was strange and unsettling. Not altogether unsurprising given the nature of our work, but it felt like a violation of our democratic rights. And it was plain creepy.

As the months went by, the web of spies continued to grow.

Our investigations unit launched a reverse sting to confirm the accuracy of the leaked information.

We caught the spies spying – literally sneaking around corners and taking photos – just like you see in the movies.

We discovered that they were an outfit called Thompson and Clark (TCIL), known in the industry for their questionable – bordering on unlawful – techniques, which included planting informants in grassroots groups, sometimes for years at a time.

And then we realised that not only did TCIL have connections to oil companies like Anadarko and Equinor (formally Statoil), but that the trail also led right back to our very own government.

Multitudes of documents we received under the Official Information Act revealed that the Ministry for Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) had a close relationship with TCIL for more than four years under the previous government, and had worked with them to protect the oil industry and counteract the advocacy work of environmental groups – or what they called “Issue Motivated Groups” – abbreviated to IMGs.

The documents showed a clear trail of teamwork between TCIL, MBIE, and oil and mining companies, and included references to their drinking sessions and other social activities.

What also became clear was that MBIE had been assisting TCIL to obtain commercial contracts by passing on contact details for mining companies that were arriving in New Zealand so that the spy agency could pitch their services to them. TCIL then seemed to act as a go between for the oil companies

What had started out as not-completely-surprising-but-definitely-completely-creepy; had quickly
turned into something far more sinister.

The Southern Response story hit the headlines at the beginning of 2018. New Zealand learnt that the same spy agency had been hired by state insurer Southern Response to target Christchurch earthquake victims and surreptitiously take unlawful recordings at their democratic community meetings.

TCIL positioned these victims of a terrible tragedy as a security threat, labelling them too as an IMG.

As a country, we were outraged. A State Services Commission (SSC) investigation headed was launched.

And then the rot really started seeping out of the woodwork. More and more victims of spying by TCIL came forward.

The SSC investigation was quickly expanded to include all government agencies, and so began one of the most important examinations into the inner workings of the state that I think we’ve seen in New Zealand.

On Tuesday, the final report from this investigation was released. It should be a Watergate moment.

The report revealed seven government departments have engaged with a spy agency that acted unlawfully, leaving us with one stark truth: That the state had been assisting in systematic and oppressive Stasi-like surveillance for years.

State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes, who headed up the investigation, called the revelations “an affront to democracy”.

Other victims of covert spy operations supported or commissioned by government departments included state abuse survivors, iwi, animal rights activists, and even opposition MPs and political parties.

So far, the report has led to a Serious Fraud Office investigation, a police complaint, and a Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority complaint. Southern Response boss Ross Butler has announced his resignation.

The SSC’s head Peter Hughes said his greatest concern is that TCIL treated these so-called Issue Motivated Groups as a security threat – basically, like terrorists – and that this then went unchallenged by government officials. In other words, the government allowed its agenda to be led by a controversial and discredited spy agency called Thompson and Clark.

My key takeaway is that under the previous government, no one was safe from being spied on if they disagreed with government policy.

Opposition leader Simon Bridges was at the helm of two of the departments – NZTA and MBIE – that were involved in unlawful spying on civil society, and he now has questions to answer about whether he purposely use the state to attack democratic civil society groups and MPs, or just failed to exercise proper oversight over these agencies.

The result of this widespread web of spies is comparable to cancer on democracy. The chilling effect of being under constant and intrusive surveillance for simply campaigning on important social issues fundamentally corrodes what it means to live in a free and democratic society.

This report shows that it doesn’t matter if you are a state abuse survivor, an earthquake victim, or a climate activist. No-one has been safe from unlawful spying in New Zealand over the past decade, and it’s all been supported by the state.

If we value our freedom, we must never allow something like this to happen again.

Keep going!

Jacinda Ardern gesticulating at Simon Bridges in parliament (Youtube – InthehouseNZ)

PoliticsDecember 19, 2018

Rottweiler Guyon Espiner turns into a cuddly puppy, praises politicians

Guyon Espiner

Guest writer

Jacinda Ardern gesticulating at Simon Bridges in parliament (Youtube – InthehouseNZ)

The RNZ columnist reviews the year, and lays out the challenges for the parties in 2019

This assessment may surprise you coming from someone who spends his professional life criticising and critiquing politicians: Over the past 20 years we have been among the best governed countries in the world.

No, it’s not just the festive glow. Under successive governments in the 21st century New Zealand has ranked near the top of many indices which measure social, economic and environmental status. One, which groups nine ‘pillars of prosperity’, is the Legatum Prosperity Index. New Zealand was second only to Norway for 2018.

So having the spent the year finding weak points to stress-test the politicians on – and, hey that’s my job – in the spirit of Christmas generosity let’s look for the good. We’ll have a couple of flicks along the way – but only a couple. Promise.

Labour wasn’t expecting to govern and early on it didn’t look ready to govern. Ministers were ill-prepared for government or ill-suited to it. Two were sacked. But Labour finishes the year looking more stable and coherent. Ministers Andrew Little, Kris Faafoi and David Parker have performed strongly.

But the core of a government is the bond between finance minister and prime minister. Grant Robertson has done much to shed the albatross always around Labour’s neck: a perception of poor economic management. Unemployment is below 4%, debt is below 20% of GDP and a surplus of more than $7.6 billion is forecast by 2022.

It could be blown off course by international events next year – and yes you can argue he should be spending more – but Robertson is on track to position Labour well for the 2020 election.

Jacinda Ardern is Labour’s greatest asset. Former prime minister Mike Moore said in the 9th Floorseries that leaders are like a canvas that people project their hopes and dreams on. She is that for many people. That’s the public role. But arguably her work behind the scenes is equally important. She has managed a coalition with the Greens and New Zealand First. That’s a simple sentence. Benign even. But that task was considered impossible by many prior to 2018. It hasn’t always been smooth but it could have been a lot worse. That will remain a challenge for 2019.

But the biggest challenge for Labour? The same challenge it always has: tax. And it’s the same question as in 2011, 2014 and 2017: will there be a capital gains tax?

National of course hopes Labour will propose a CGT because they would love to oppose the tax and depose the government over it. National has had significant challenges this year. The Jami-Lee Ross rupture was explosive. But when the ash and smoke cleared the damage was limited.

National Party leader Simon Bridges is still standing. He’s not personally popular and those ratings probably won’t change. But to have his party in the mid-40s in the Colmar Brunton poll is remarkable (and no, I’m not convinced that selective leaks of internal polls tell ‘the real story’).

National has largely done what an opposition is supposed to do. There has been scrutiny where it was needed, with Czech drug smuggler Karel Sroubek, the Provincial Growth Fund and KiwiBuild. It’s been constructive at times too, as with MP Nikki Kaye’s bill on second language learning in primary schools.

The greatest challenge for National in 2019 will be staying relevant – and remembering that the enemy is in front of them and not within.

New Zealand First turned 25 this year and has other reasons to celebrate 2018. Forty years after entering Parliament NZ its leader, Winston Peters, is more influential than ever. His party prised billions from Treasury for foreign affairs and the Problem Gambling Foundation. On foreign policy Peters faltered badly over the Russia FTA but has largely been solid in his second stint in the portfolio. The challenge for him in 2019 will be managing the increasingly fraught relationship with China.

The Greens looked swamped by New Zealand First at times but can also be happy with 2018. It wasn’t a big bang approach, more of a big ban approach. Oil and gas exploration and single use plastic bags are banned. Those are big changes. It’s hard to imagine them happening without the Greens in government.

Act? Well it’s only in parliament because National lets David Seymour win Epsom. But hey, it’s Christmas and Seymour is a talented, bright MP who is a human headline when he puts his mind to it.

I’ll leave the assessment of his dancing skills for you. I’ll also leave you with a question about MMP to bring us back to where we started. Consider this (unlikely but not far-fetched) scenario. In 2020 National lets Act wither. The Green vote drops 1.5 points and the New Zealand First vote drops 2.5 points. You’d be back to an FPP style, two party parliament of National and Labour. Would our world rankings remain?

First published on RNZ