Drip, Drip, Drip

Investigative journalist Nicky Hager today said a series of documents leaked to him by the fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden showed New Zealand was spying on its Pacific neighbours to serve American interests and secure its place in a US-led "club".

[...]

According to Hager, the documents show the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) has been spying on Pacific countries including the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, Nauru and Samoa. They also show that in 2009, spying activity was ramped up to "full-take collection" where all communications from the region were "being hoovered in" by the GCSB.

[...]

Hager said that as part of the "full-take collection" referred to in the documents, all communications from the region were "being hoovered in" by the GCSB.

"Everything, everything gets saved, everything gets classified, it all gets sent to the United States," he said.

"So we've really sold out our neighbours, big time, to the US intelligence agencies."

Hager questioned what was to be gained from spying on small countries like Samoa and Tuvalu.

"The overall spying is because the United States is spying on every part of the world, country by country - pretty much everyone on earth - and New Zealand just gets the job of doing over our little neighbours."

[...]

Decisions in the Five Eyes alliance - comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - were mostly made by the US, and the other members - including New Zealand - "just have to do what they're told".

"We've got our little part of the world that we've got to collect all the data on, which is the southwest Pacific, and then we feed all that data into the giant NSA database," [Green Party co-leader Russel] Norman said.

"It really means we don't have an independent foreign policy - we haven't even vetted the data or looked at it - we just hand it over to the US Government."

New Zealand undertook the surveillance not for security, but to be part of the Five Eyes alliance - "the club", Norman said.

  Stuff

A complaint has been lodged with the [New Zealand] Inspector General of Intelligence and Security claiming the GCSB has broken the law by spying on Kiwis holidaying, living and working in the Pacific.

It is a direct challenge to the Prime Minister's assertion the Government Communications Security Bureau acts legally.

The Green Party complaint was lodged after documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden showed there was "full take" collection of satellite communications in the Pacific by the GCSB.

Once intercepted, it was claimed the information was sent to the United States' National Security Agency where intelligence agencies from friendly countries could search it by name, keyword or other identifying details.

[...]

[During the time frame of the complaint,] the law stated the GCSB was not allowed to do anything which led to communications of a New Zealand citizen or resident being intercepted.

Accidental interception of New Zealanders' communications was meant to be destroyed as soon as possible.

  NA Herald

Well, we’re sorry, but it just hasn’t been possible until now.

[New Zealand PM] John Key yesterday rejected the Herald story. "Some of the information was incorrect, some of the information was out of date, some of the assumptions made were just plain wrong."

He added: "Everyone is 100 per cent confident our legal position is correct."

Maybe not everyone.

He would not speak in any further detail, but told a reporter at a press conference who asked about "full take": "With the greatest of respect, I don't actually think you understand the technical term and it's not my job to explain it to you.’

You lowly reporter, you.

"Where we gather intelligence, particularly if there is a friend involved, then that isn't to harm that particular organisation or country. That is to support them, or assist them."

We spy on you for your own good. Well, that, and the U.S. tells us to.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.