the New Zealand agencies

As with Australia, internal surveillance and external espionage involves a range of New Zealand agencies - clandestine and otherwise. This page highlights some of those agencies.

It covers -

• introduction
• NZIS
• GCSB
• police
• assessment and coordination

     introduction

New Zealand's smaller size relative to Australia - and arguably its correspondingly smaller ambitions - means that its intelligence machinery appears to be less complex.

As with Australia, the total cost and size of the national intelligence machinery cannot be established.

     NZIS

The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) is ASIO's counterpart.

It was established by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service Act 1969, with strengthened surveillance powers through a 1977 amendment to that legislation (subsequently amended by the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002). It traces its origins to the WWII era Security Intelligence Bureau.

The 1999 report of the Inspector-General of Intelligence & Security commented, tongue in cheek or otherwise, that

The fact that there are very few complaints and little need for any inquiry into the activities of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (or the Government Communications Security Bureau) indicates, I believe, that the performance of their activities does not impinge adversely on New Zealand citizens.

The NZIS had a budget in 2002-03 of around NZ$16.5 million, with around 140 staff. It has regional offices in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. The organisation's Annual Report indicates that Security Intelligence Advice accounted for 65% of expenditure, Foreign Intelligence for 14% and Protective Security Advice for 21%.

In 2002-03 some 14 domestic interception warrants were in place.

    GCSB

Although insights are offered by The Ties that Bind - Intelligence Cooperation between the UKUSA Countries (London: Allen & Unwin 1985) by Desmond Ball & Jeffrey Richelson is no comparable study for New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), subject of a 1998 review by the NZ Inspector-General of Intelligence & Security (IGIS). It operates under the NZ Intelligence & Security Committee Act and the Inspector-General of Intelligence & Security Act.

Some historical insights may be gleaned from Swift & Sure: A History of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals and Army Signaling in New Zealand. (Auckland: New Zealand Signals 1996), an official history by Laurie Barber & Cliff Lord.

    police

[under development]

     assessment and coordination

New Zealand security intelligence assessment and coordination bodies include the External Assessments Bureau (EAB) and National Assessments Committee (NAC).

The Cabinet Strategy Subcommittee on Intelligence & Security, chaired by the Prime Minister, considers issues of oversight, organisation and priorities for the New Zealand intelligence community.

An Intelligence & Security Committee established by the Intelligence & Security Committee Act 1996 oversights the NZIS and GCSB. Its membership of five includes the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Its formal responsibilities include scrutiny of the "policy, administration and expenditure" of the agencies and receipt of the NZIS Annual Report.

The Inspector-General of Intelligence & Security (IGIS), a position established by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1996, provides what is intended as complementary oversight. The Inspector-General is required to be a person who has been a judge of the High Court.

The IGIS is to

• enquire into any matter that relates to agency compliance with the law of New Zealand
• enquire into any matter where it appears that a New Zealand 'person' may have been adversely affected by an act, omission, practice, policy, or procedure of the NZIS
• with the Minister's concurrence enquire into the propriety of particular activities of the NZIS
• review the effectiveness and appropriateness of procedures adopted by the NZIS to ensure compliance with provisions relating to issue and execution of interception warrants.

   next page (Australian state agencies)