March 2015
Not to be dissuaded by the fact that the Snowden leaks have to date shown up many an other leader’s claims of the exact same thing. And, voilà! A Snowden leak has come out putting New Zealand smack in the mix. As New Zealand is part of the Five Eyes spying alliance, anyone with a working brain could have expected as much. But, it’s political policy to deny, deny, deny. Even if you’re caught red-handed, a former federal prison parolee once said to me.[New Zealand Prime Minister John] Key has always insisted he would quit if it was proved that New Zealanders were subject to mass surveillance.
He insists the GCSB has told him that it is not capable of doing mass surveillance and is not legally allowed to do it.
TVNZ
Spot on script. Spot on. Or as James Clapper put it before Congress, “not wittingly.”Late last week former GCSB boss Sir Bruce Ferguson told Radio New Zealand that there was mass collection of New Zealanders' data as part of spying operations in the Pacific.
Sir Bruce also maintained however that it was legal as it was collected inadvertently and that the information on Kiwis was not used.
That’s what we pay ‘em for.When asked today about whether there was a difference between the terms "collection" and "surveillance", Mr Key responded by saying he was "sure the lawyers would tell you there is a difference".
The script to a farethewell.When pressed further, he refused to comment, saying he wasn't going to go into the GCSB's operational details.
Oh, and, you won’t be surprised…
Let’s see what happens to the rest of his claims.Prime Minister John Key [now] says he would not resign if it is proved that the GCSB carries out mass collection of New Zealanders' communications.
Sept. 15 [2014] (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he’ll declassify intelligence service documents to disprove claims his government engaged in mass surveillance of its citizens.
Bloomberg
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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