8 October 2012

Govt Should Review Huawei Contracts In Light Of Damning Report

The Green Party is calling on the Government to seriously consider the damning findings of the United States House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee report into Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

The House committee reported it had received credible allegations that Huawei may be guilty of bribery and corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement and recommends that U.S. network providers and system developers are “strongly encouraged to seek other vendors for their projects”.

“The Government should review using Huawei on broadband rollout in order to protect our economy, information and intellectual property from cyber-attack,” said Green Party ICT spokesperson Gareth Hughes.

“Despite the Australian Government and the U.S. House of Representatives both taking steps to minimise the risk of Huawei operating in their countries, our Government is doing nothing to ensure the integrity of our telecommunications infrastructure.

“The House of Representatives have raised real concerns about Huawei that our Government should take seriously.

“The New Zealand taxpayer shouldn't be giving Huawei hundreds of millions of dollars to make it easier for Beijing to potentially spy on us.

“The Government was irresponsible to dismiss legitimate concerns about Huawei in March when Australia blocked the company from being involved in their fibre rollout.

“It’s unlikely that John Key and his spy agencies would know something both the US and Australia Governments don't and it is now prudent to review our relationship with Huawei in light of this new information.”

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>