Spy report tells us nothing, says Locke

The Green Party has attacked the Annual Report of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), tabled today, as completely vacuous and a total failure in public accountability.

"This report doesn't identify a single achievement by the GCSB in the year to last June," said Keith Locke, the Green Party Security and Intelligence spokesperson.

"It does nothing to lift the blanket of secrecy over the Waihopai satellite communication interception station, let alone answer the criticism that it is primarily gathering intelligence for America.

"New Zealand foreign policy is being badly compromised because information from Waihopai is helping the Bush Administration in its over-the-top security drag net, its preparations for Star Wars and its military adventures around the globe.

"Waihopai also threatens the privacy of all New Zealanders by intercepting millions of our phone calls, faxes and emails."

The GCSB "financial report" is the most inadequate government report ever produced, listing only the total expenditure of $29.154 million.

"There is no reason at all why the report couldn't have stated how much money is being wasted on Waihopai and how much is being spent on the useful task of protecting government computers," said Mr Locke.

"After reading this report, we're no wiser on what the GCSB is actually doing and who it is targeting. Despite its stated goal of serving the interests of New Zealanders, it remains an agency democratically unaccountable to the New Zealand public."

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>