The move towards fascism in New Zealand

More events in the process of New Zealand's move towards fascism. Firstly Key has been caught out lying and was forced to release text messages between him and Cameron Slater before they were released for him.  Key refuses to apologise to the NZ people or to Phil Goff over egregious abuse of state power but HAS apologised to hate speech merchant, Cameron Slater. In the meantime the NZ taxpayer is picking up Slater's legal bills.

If you want to know exactly how things have got, listen to this inteview with NZ's Solicitor General and (since Key sacked himself from the position always held by the PM -of-the-day), Minister for the SIS.

Meanwhile, like Paul Buchanan before them, these two academic say it how it is when it comes to the spy legislation that this government is rushing through parliament giving the public ONE DAY to put in submissions  - a democratic safeguard the Solicitor General has described as a "three month chit-chat"

Academics speak out against Terrorist Fighter Legislation

Terrorism experts say the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill, which is being rammed through Parliament this week is completely unnecessary and counter-productive

Here are the main stores.
PM, blogger in contact several times

Prime Minister John Key has admitted being in contact with Cameron Slater a "handful" of times since two inquiries were launched relating to information given to the right-wing blogger.

Radio NZ,

27 November, 2014

Mr Key this morning responded to reporters' questions about why he initially denied being in contact with Mr Slater, when asked yesterday by reporters and in Parliament.

He said he could not recall the exact number of occasions on which he had communicated with Mr Slater, saying it was "a handful" of times.

He said he had talked to the blogger ahead of his decision to release a screen grab of their email exchange on the evening of the release of reports on the SIS and on former Justice Minister Judith Collins.

In the first, Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn found the SIS released inaccurate and misleading information leading to unfounded criticism of former Labour Party leader Phil Goff.

A second report released on Tuesday cleared former Justice Minister Judith Collins of undermining Serious Fraud Office (SFO) head Adam Feely in 2011. The report concluded former and current staff members of the SFO were leaking information to Cameron Slater and the New Zealand Herald.

Mr Key told reporters this morning he treated Mr Slater as he would any other journalist, and that on each occasion Mr Slater had initiated the contact.

Yesterday the Prime Minister returned to Parliament to correct his earlier answer, confirming the exchange of text messages with Mr Slater about the Inspector-General's report.

"On Monday the 24th of November I received an unsolicited text message from Mr Slater with a reference to the IGIS report. There was a very short exchange where I briefly acknowledged that text message," he said

Anti-terror bill 'rammed through'

Public submissions are open on legislation the Government claims will protect New Zealand from the threat of foreign fighters but submitters will have to be quick as the deadline is tomorrow.

The Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill passed its first reading in Parliament yesterday.

It will be considered by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee, with hearings to be held tomorrow and Friday.

The bill will be reported back to Parliament on 2 December, and the Government wants it passed before the House rises for Christmas on December 11.

Listen to more on Checkpoint ( 2 min 14 esc )

The bill will extend the period the Government can cancel a passport for, from 12 months to three years. It will also allow the Security Intelligence Service to carry out greater surveillance than it does now, including in special cases without a warrant for up to 48 hours.

Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford said the Government should not be rushing through bills which impacted on human rights.

"We've been concerned about the use of urgency for many years," he said.

"The problem seems to be that the very bills that affect our human rights most are the bills that are put through using ugrency."

No good reason

Auckland Council for Civil Liberties spokesperson Barry Wilson said he had yet to hear a good reason for the rush.

"Here's a bill that affects the rights of all New Zealanders rammed through Parliament with complete disregard of the normal democratic process. ''

"The normal reporting back process is four months."

Labour Party defence spokesperson MP Phil Goff said four working days was a deplorable amount of time for a select committee to consider the bill.

He said the United Kingdom was introducing similar legislation this week with a deadline of May next year.

But Labour did offer support for the bill's first reading yesterday, which passed by 107 votes to 14 with only the Green Party voting against it.

National said the bill needs to be rushed through to fill gaps in security legislation, and wants it passed into law by Christmas.

Academics speak out against Terrorist Fighter Legislation 

Terrorism experts say the Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill, which is being rammed through Parliament this week is completely unnecessary and counter-productive

Cameron Slater: 'I never said Labour Party were trying to kill me'

NZ Herald,

27 November, 2014

Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater was this morning backtracking over his claim that figures within the Labour Party tried to kill him.

Slater made the claim - dismissed as "delusional" by Labour Party Leader Andrew Little - in a Monday night text exchange with John Key which the Prime Minister until late yesterday denied ever took place.

After being forced to correct earlier statements that he had not been in recent contact with Slater, Mr Key late last night released an edited version of his text conversation with Slater.

In the texts, Slater tells Key he had learned from a journalist on Monday night that Labour MP Phil Goff had leaked details of Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn's report into the SIS role in Slater's 2011 political attack on Mr Goff.

He goes on to claim that former Labour Leader David Cunliffe's chief of staff Matt McCarten was "involved in hack" - an apparent reference to the hacking of his email accounts.

The hacked emails formed the basis of Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics.

In an apparent reference to Labour, Slater said "they played the real dirty politics...even tried to kill me... I have evidence of".

This morning however, Slater wrote: "Just to be clear, I never said the Labour Party were trying to kill me. That's the spin the Labour Party have put on it this morning."

He said his comments about McCarten and people involved in Dirty Politics trying to kill him "were separate and distinct".

"The criminal conspiracy was large enough for some of them not to know what others were planning in parallel."

'I don't think it's embarrassing'

Slater appeared on NewstalkZB this morning but was not asked this morning about the sensational claims in the text messages last night.

He rejected claims that Mr Key misled the country when he denied having contact with him over the reports, adding that he was entitled as a private citizen to contact whoever he wanted to, and the Prime Minister had the same right.

"I don't think it's embarrassing," Slater told NewstalkZB. "He's the Prime Minister of all New Zealanders."

Slater said the Prime Minister and he did not discuss the Chisholm inquiry, so Mr Key was not actually misleading the House. "If you ask a question with two legs to it then the person answering that question is entitled to answer just one leg."

Mr Key yesterday and even on Tuesday morning denied he had any recent contact with Slater. He later returned to the House to confirm he was in touch with Slater about Ms Gwyn's report the night before it was released on Tuesday.

"On Monday the 24th of November I received an unsolicited text message from Mr Slater with a reference to the IGIS report. There was a very short exchange where I briefly acknowledged that text message."

His office said Mr Key did not discuss the findings with Slater during that exchange.

Mr Key explained he had mistakenly thought the initial question related only to the report that exonerated former Justice Minister Judith Collins of allegations she worked with Slater to undermine former Serious Fraud Office boss Adam Feeley. That report was also published on Tuesday.

Mr Little said there was "an air of unreality" about the texts. "Some of them look somewhat delusional."

He scoffed at the claim Mr McCarten was involved in the hacking. "I don't think his computer skills go that far."

'Delusional'

Mr McCarten said claims he hacked Slater and that Labour was planning to kill the blogger were absurd, fantastical and had a "delusional" nature. "Cameron, I'm sure, has lots of thoughts in his head about the way the world works."

Mr McCarten said the claims had echoes of the hyperbole about Serious Fraud Office boss Adam Feeley that earlier got Judith Collins in trouble, where Slater was "exposed" as an exaggerator.

"No one believes that we were organising to have him killed. I mean, this is just sad. And the Prime Minister just needs to get better friends I would suspect."

Mr Little earlier said the different versions of events raised more questions about the Prime Minister's office.

"The Prime Minister gave an answer to a question in Parliament today that was wrong. People will draw their own conclusions. This is a very disturbing development at a time when the Prime Minister's office is under question for its lack of integrity and ethics. We are seeing more of it yet again."

The Green Party said Mr Key had demonstrated that his answers to questions couldn't be trusted.

"The waters surrounding Mr Key and his attack blogger friend have been further muddied in the past 48 hours, highlighting the need for a Royal Commission to investigate the extent of the Prime Minister's involvement in dirty politics and the use of SIS information for political purposes," Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

Ms Turei highlighted that Mr Key's office described him as the Prime Minister in the transcript of the text conversation with Slater despite Mr Key's insistence that he didn't' communicate with Slater in his role as Prime Minister.

"New Zealanders can't believe what the Prime Minister says, he has been caught red handed," Mrs Turei said.

Meanwhile, Ms Gwyn yesterday said she would investigate Mr Goff's acknowledgement he disclosed findings from her report before its release.

She would be seeking further information from him and others.

"The broadcast or publication of that information may also have contravened the IGIS Act and, in any case, these events raise questions for the handling of future reports.

"Any issue of prosecution will, however, be for the police", she said.

Mr Little said Mr Key's admission "throws open a whole new issue".

"Now the Inspector-General's inquiry into the alleged leak of the report has to be widened and I expect the Prime Minister to co-operate fully with [her]."

The battle for the moral high ground over the leak of the report followed further efforts from opposition parties to get Mr Key to accept that his office's role in supplying information provided by the SIS to Slater, as confirmed by the report, was unethical.

"Why does he not cut the crap and just apologise to New Zealand for running a smear machine out of his office?" Mr Little said in the House.

But Mr Key said the report found there was no collusion between the SIS and his staff and they did not breach any obligations of confidentiality. He added that Labour itself had a history of dirty tricks.

THE TRANSCRIPT

Cameron Slater: gave it away to me...Goff leaked SIS report

John Key: It's a joke isn't it. They will attack Jason for talking to u and they break the confidentiality agreement. Classic lab.

Slater: Yup...I'm very angry over it...Goff is the one who leaked oravida stuff too.

Slater: They still have standard bloggers on staff

Slater: And Mccarten was involved in hack

Key: Hopefully it will all come out in time

Slater: I wish they would hurry up...they played the real dirty politics...even tried to kill me...I have evidence of.

Taxpayers to foot WhaleOil's legal bills over 'dirty politics' probes

Taxpayers will be billed up to $10,000 for blogger Cameron Slater's legal fees for two inquiries into dirty politics.

Stuff

27 November, 2014

Slater's links to the Beehive were at the heart of investigations by retired High Court judge Lester Chisholm and intelligence watchdog Cheryl Gwyn, which were published this week.

He was a witness to both probes, carried out under the 2013 Inquiries Act. This entitles his lawyers' fees, travel costs and expenses to be met by the taxpayer.

A source said Slater's legal costs for the Chisholm investigation - which examined a campaign to smear Serious Fraud Office boss Adam Feeley - were between $7500 and $10,000. The budget for the inquiry was $663,000, but the full costs - including Chisholm's pay packet are yet to be finalised, a spokesman for the Department Internal Affairs said.

"The forecast costs for the inquiry allowed for witnesses to be reimbursed for costs associated with their appearance ... we are yet to finalise costs which will be completed once invoices and claims for reimbursement have been received and processed," he said.

A spokesman for the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security could not confirm costs for Gwyn's inquiry or details of Slater's expenses.

Slater, who publishes the WhaleOil blog, confirmed he expects his barrister's fees to be met, at the department's approved rate, but has "no idea" of the amount. "It was all arranged with Internal Affairs, but I didn't handle any of that ... I applied, I met the criteria and that's it, as far as I am concerned."

Earlier this month Slater appealed for readers of his blog to contribute to legal fees, stemming from an attempt to injunct media outlets over Dirty Politics. "It cost me over $60,000," he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Key continued to draw fire over the Dirty Politics scandal yesterday.

Gwyn's report confirmed Slater was given Security Intelligence Service documents to use in a political hit in 2011 on Labour leader of the time Phil Goff.

Slater was instructed to ask for them by senior staffer Jason Ede, who was tipped off by Key's deputy chief of staff Phil de Joux. Both have moved on to other jobs.

Labour leader Andrew Little told Key to "cut the crap" and tell the truth about the relationship between "black ops" adviser Ede and Slater.

However, Cabinet minister Steven Joyce returned fire, accusing him of "a little anger issue".

Key later returned to the House to correct an answer he gave during Question Time.

He confirmed he received an "unsolicited" text message from Slater on Monday, about Gwyn's report. Key says he "acknowledged" the text.

He had earlier denied the communication because he thought Labour had asked if it was in relation to the Chisholm inquiry.

The 11-week Chisholm inquiry cleared former justice minister Judith Collins of undermining Feeley but was condemned by Greens co-leader Metiria Turei as "once over lightly"

Having refused even once to have come clean with the New Zealand public and apologise to ex-Labour leader, Phil Goff, Key offers his apologies to friend and hate merchant, Cameron Slater

John Key says sorry to Whale Oil

The prime minister has apologised to Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater over the release of an email that forced Justice Minister Judith Collins' resignation.

Stuff

23 November, 2014

The discovery comes as John Key awaits an inquiry report into an alleged smear campaign against the boss of the Serious Fraud Office. An email from Slater, obtained and released by Key, implicated Collins in the smear against her own official, saying she had been "gunning" for SFO director Adam Feeley.

Collins resigned, insisting she would clear her name. Key called an inquiry. Slater countered by lodging a privacy complaint against the prime minister for disclosing a personal email.

The email indicated Feeley may have been the target of a campaign to undermine him involving two bloggers, Cathy Odgers and Slater, and seemingly endorsed by Collins. At the time, Collins was overseeing the SFO, and the State Services Commission was investigating Feeley's actions.

Documents suggested the bloggers had been engaged by embattled Hanover financier Mark Hotchin to mount attacks, including one on the SFO director whom they dubbed "Five Fingers Feeley".

Justice Lester Chisholm is due to present his report to the prime minister this week. It is likely to clear Collins of any illegal actions. However, the bloggers may be the subject of criticism.

Despite this, Key has been forced to say sorry to Slater and Key's office has confirmed: "The Prime Minister recently wrote to Mr Slater to apologise."

But he stood by his actions. "The Prime Minister believes, however, it was in the public interest to release the email in question publicly," a spokeswoman said.

The Prime Minister's Office said it would not release the letter as it related to a privacy issue, but it was up to Slater to decide if he wished to make it public.

Slater yesterday agreed to issue a copy of the letter.

In it, Key says there was "intense media and public interest in matters concerning you and Judith Collins, following the publication of the book Dirty Politics", creating an "election issue".

Slater's email raised serious questions about Collins' conduct, he says. "In my view the reasons for Ms Collins' resignation were of real and legitimate public concern, and it was in the public interest that the fullest possible factual background be available."

But Key acknowledges the release of the email provoked increased media scrutiny of Slater and his family. "I regret any harm that may have been caused to you or your family by the release of the email, and hope that this letter may help to bring this matter to a close."

Neither Collins nor the bloggers were willing to comment before the report was released.

Otago University Law Professor Andrew Geddis said he would not be surprised if the inquiry found no wrongdoing by Collins.

"I'm not going to say that's a wrong conclusion either. It's always possible that she was acting as badly as intimated, but I just find it very hard to believe any politician could be that dumb. It wouldn't surprise me if [Slater] was just big-noting and puffing up his own importance with regards to this issue, and that he's misconstrued gossipy comments from one of their regular telephone conversations."