Key softening up NZ'ers for security powers

Key has his mandate, handed to him on a plate by the sheep of New Zealand who will now go on to cheer him on.

He has the political power, so he will ride roughshod over any  civil or legal concerns and introduce his Security State

New Zealanders had plenty of warning.

NZ terrorism threat level raised

The Prime Minister, John Key, says officials have raised New Zealand's national terrorist threat level from very low to low.

Radio NZ,

14 October, 2014

He said that meant that where previously the threat of a terrorist attack was assessed as unlikely, it is now assessed as possible, but not expected.

Mr Key says the threat level is still below New Zealand's partner countries, but he says from time to time specific threats are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

He also announced a review he said would ensure New Zealand can respond to the evolving domestic threat posed by people joining foreign terrorist organisations.

He said the targeted review will take four weeks, after which he says a law change is likely to be needed.

Mr Key said it was estimated that about 3000 of the foreign fighters associated with Islamic State hold Western passports, including some New Zealanders.

"They threaten to return to their countries of origin, both radicalised and with military training.

"Out intelligence agencies are aware of the risk and are focussed on addressing it."

He said if that was the case he wanted to get broad Parliamentary support for any legislation, which would likely need to pass before the House rises in December.

Cabinet considers measures

At today's cabinet meeting, ministers considered a briefing paper urging tighter passport controls, as well as other anti-terrorist measures.

While it was a criminal act to participate in a terrorist group under the Terrorism Suppression Act, that law was hard to enforce, Mr Key said earlier today.

Listen to John Key on Morning Report ( 5 min 43 sec )

"There's a lot deficiencies in that law, at least there's a lot of debate about how applicable the law is, how easy it is to get a conviction under the law," he said.

"That's really the issue in this area."

It was also important New Zealand's anti-terrorism laws aligned with those of close allies such as Australia, Mr Key said.

Labour questions need for urgency

The Labour Party wanted to know why Mr Key is looking to push through the new anti-terrorism measures under urgency.

Acting leader David Parker said the changes could be quite complex and should not be rushed.

"The things that change the civil liberties of New Zealanders, whether it's to come and go from New Zealand or to hold a passport, are serious issues. And unless there's a pressing need to change things overnight, why not take a month to do it?"

Mr Parker said Labour would be happy to take part in a decent process to make law changes.

Legal doubts

However, legal experts say it will still be problematic to prove a person intends to, or has, committed a crime against humanity even if the Government changes terror laws.

University of Auckland law professor Bill Hodge said whatever the changes, proving extra-territorial conduct would be difficult.

He questioned whether a person who said they were going on the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj, would be told they could not fulfil their religious obligation, if there was suspicion they were going for other purposes.

"There's an extra dimension of difficulty because there are legitimate reasons for people who may be Muslim to go to the Middle East," he said.

"They may be on a Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, they may be offering humanitarian support to families (or) they may be offering logistical support.

"It's going to be hard to prove that they were committing a crime against humanity."

Islamic leaders question Govt's plan

The Federation of Islamic Associations has questioned the Government plans and wants to ensure they do not go too far.

Islamic leaders met over the weekend and the Federation's president, Anwar Ghani, is writing to Prime Minister today to offer to work with him on the changes.

He told Nine to Noon they want to make sure the law is balanced as there have been problems in Australia where similar laws have been put in place.

Mr Ghani said people often have legitimate reasons to travel to some of the countries being targeted, and curtailing the freedom to do so would be unfair.

University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis said to even cancel passports, it had to be shown people would be involved in crimes against civilians, which was difficult to prove.

Listen to Andrew Geddis on Morning Report ( 4 min 19 sec )

As well, Mr Key might also want to clarify what counted as acting for a terror organisation, if he was looking at how to tighten terror legislation, he said.

"So that fighting alongside, or fighting in a terrorist organisation becomes a criminal offence by itself quite clearly - without necessarily having participated in any particular terrorist act itself," Professor Geddis said.

So if they think there is doubt about whether that's a criminal action at the moment, I'm pretty sure they'll want to try to make that clear."

Key raises terror threat level to justify war in Iraq and now the SIS need MORE spying powers???

My guess will be these spying powers will mimic the anti-whitsleblower spy powers that Australia is trying to force through and this will all be done under the guise of protecting us from terrorism.

Martyn Bradbury

Daily Blog,

14 October, 2014

Have we learned nothing from rushing into war?

It’s embarrassing Key has raised our terror threat from ‘very low’ to ‘low’ so he can justify military action in Iraq.

Watching him pimp for an American war is as sick as watching him pimp for Sky City Casino. All Key is saying, is give never ending war a chance.

But it gets better, now Key says the SIS need MORE spying powers to cope with this sudden threat. That’s right, after handing the GCSB and the Police vast surveillance powers which effectively amount to the largest erosion of civil liberties in NZs modern political history, the SIS now need MORE spying powers.

My guess will be these spying powers will mimic the anti-whitsleblower spy powers that Australia is trying to force through and this will all be done under the guise of protecting us from terrorism. The new SIS powers will of course have nothing to do with protecting us from terrorism and everything to do with shutting down whistle blowers and journalists like Nicky Hager who dare to challenge the Government with information the SIS and GCSB don’t want in the public domain. These new powers will be rammed through Parliament at Christmas when no one is paying attention.

It’s insulting that Key said previous to the election that we wouldn’t go to war, the second he wins, all of a sudden we need to go to war.

Key lied, bare faced and is now using fear to justify a war AND more SIS spying powers. The real horror is that NZers will love him for it.

Reasons to doubt Key's spy overhaul

Andrea Vance

Stuff,

12 October, 2014

OPINION: Welcome to the politics of fear. Chiming in with other Western governments, Prime Minister John Key has signalled he will once again overhaul spying legislation. Last year, foreign spying powers were beefed up, on the pretext of an illegal snooping scandal. This time around, Key is set to soften up the public with a speech later this month, amplifying the threat of "terrorism tourists". There are already (at least) four reasons to be wary.

1. TERROR THREAT ALERT: UNKNOWN

Western intelligence agencies fear the Islamic State (Isis) is recruiting foreign jihadis, training them to return and attack their home countries. Western passports that grant easier access to terror targets – especially in the United States – are prized. As well as this, al Qaeda in Iraq and Islamic State have adapted from previous counter-terrorism operations and are proving much harder to monitor. Five Eyes spy agencies want greater powers and UK and Australian governments recently blew the dog whistle on this transnational threat and signed off a raft of new laws. No evidence is publicly available to show New Zealand is facing an increased risk. In February, Key said only a handful of passports have been cancelled since a law change in 2005. New Zealand doesn't declare its threat risk, and Key talks about national security issues only when it suits a political end, so on this impending Islamist onslaught we have only his word.

2. IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH?

No. To date, on high-profile intelligence matters, Key has been slippery. He was dishonest about the curious appointment of spy boss Ian Fletcher – he claimed not to know him, but it later turned out that Fletcher was an old school chum. He has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the death of Kiwi Daryl Jones in a drone strike – despite using the death for political point scoring over the new Government Communications Security Bureau legislation.

And he was contradicted over the activities of the National Security Agency by whistleblower Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald. Last month, Snowden forced him to admit GCSB and NSA were working on plans for mass surveillance as the GCSB laws were passing through Parliament. Key rescinded the project, but its existence was kept secret throughout intense public debate over the legislation.

3. WHY SO SECRET?

The public has again been kept in the dark about intelligence plans. Security matters dominated the last week of the election campaign, and yet Key kept a lid on the latest proposals. With a 48 per cent party vote share, he can cynically claim a mandate, but it is disquieting. He has also delegated warrant signing and day-to-day intelligence business to Chris Finlayson, which insulates him from tricky questions.

4. IS THIS REALLY ABOUT THE -UP IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Fighting alongside Isis and Jabhat Al-Nusra is already a criminal offence. Under the Terrorism Suppression Act, they are designated terrorist entities making it an offence to take part in or support their activities – worth up to 14 years in jail. The legislation allows for these acts to have taken place outside New Zealand. Experts suspicious of the expansion of surveillance powers in Australia have judged they have nothing to do with jihadis – and are aimed at countering economic espionage – a threat much less likely to strike fear into the hearts of the people, and make them more accepting of change.

PM warned not to overreact to higher threat level

The Prime Minister is being warned not to overreact to the country's increased terror threat level, as he signals the toughening up of anti-terrorism laws.