Cunliffe raises questions about surveillance

David Cunliffe talked about the “serious issues” surrounding mass surveillance and privacy at a public meeting at Waikato University yesterday.

It was a hot button issue for all at the packed meeting following the allegations made earlier in the week by Edward Snowden that the private data and communications of New Zealanders is being collected by the GCSB – a claim vehemently denied by the government.

Cunliffe said the Prime Minister had misled New Zealanders, particularly with regard to the GCSB bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament last year.

“We were never told…the bill was partly needed because the government was planning to tap into the southern cross cable and have the capability to sweep the metadata of all of your phone calls and emails.

“Parliament was never told that, we did not debate it. We just found out about it five days before a general election, when people have not really had time to digest it.”

The Labour leader said New Zealanders would not feel at ease about the role of the GCSB, nor the part it plays in the Five Eyes surveillance agreement, unless certain questions were answered.

Cunliffe said the questions troubling many were: whether the GCSB feeds information about New Zealanders into the Five Eyes pool, whether agencies from other countries conduct surveillance of New Zealanders and if so, what oversight processes are in place to govern access to that information.

Cunliffe promised a wide-ranging review of New Zealand’s intelligence and security service would take place if Labour were elected into government.

He also said a Labour-led government will set its sights on the GCSB bill.

“We will repeal the GCSB law that is currently on the books.

“We will replace it with a law that is more protective of personal rights and freedom as set out in our digital bill of rights.”