[asia-apec 1212] NZ: SIS Law

[Gatt Watchdog]

25 July 1999

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE

SIS Bill: Government & Pals About To Do a "No. 2" On Us In Time For APEC

The victim of an illegal Security Intelligence Service breakin, whose legal
case has sparked two amendments to the Security Intelligence Service Act is
throughly unimpressed by the latest version of the SIS Amendment (no 2)
Bill expected to be debated and passed in Parliament shortly. =20

"The SIS has not been reined in by these recent legislative amendments.
Quite the opposite - these law changes are designed to expand, not limit,
the powers of the SIS.  Try as she might to reassure people that critics of
APEC will not be subject to SIS snooping, Jenny Shipley cannot hide the
fact that both amendment bills have been rushed through explicitly in order
to legitimate further SIS break-ins before September=92s Leaders Summit.  An=
d
it was the Prime Minister herself, and various National, Labour, and ACT
MPs who first linked the perceived need to legalise SIS break-ins to APEC
in parliamentary debates and in the media, not me, GATT Watchdog, the APEC
Monitoring Group or our allies. When the APEC circus ends, the law will
remain =96 with the SIS above the law," said Aziz Choudry.

"The tweaking of the definition of "security" to distinguish between
perceived "domestic" and "foreign" or "foreign-influenced" threats does
nothing to tighten up the controversial "economic and international
wellbeing" wording which many organisations have roundly condemned".=20

"Who knows what or who will be deemed to fit this new category?  And who
will oversee the SIS and its Minister who will retain sole authority for
issuing "foreign" warrants?  Governments have often justified security
crackdowns against domestic dissenters on the basis of spurious claims of
foreign control or influence.  Who will scrutinise the activities of the
SIS in this regard?"

"The Minister and the SIS repeatedly say "trust us". Why should we?"  =20

"The supposed statutory checks and balances on the SIS did not work as soon
as they were put to the test shortly after their 1996 revamp.  Nothing in
the legislative amendments makes them work now." =20

"They are a fiction. They remain non-existent."

"The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security was unwilling or unable
even to admit the involvement of the Service in his report on the bungled
1996 operation. It took legal action to get an admission from the Crown
that it was indeed the SIS =96 and that the entry was illegal."

"That someone has to take legal action against the SIS to get this far is
positive proof that the Inspector-General=92s office is toothless and the
oversight mechanisms fundamentally flawed."=20

Mr Choudry is unimpressed by a "sweetener" amendment to the reporting
requirements of the SIS suggested in the bill which is expected to be
debated and get its third reading in Parliament this week. =20

"I think that Privacy Commissioner Bruce Slane overstates the significance
of the suggested reporting requirements which, if accepted would require
fuller annual reports to be tabled by the SIS.  All things considered this
is a very minor concession.  Its value is more symbolic than substantive-
and doesn=92t apply to "foreign warrants" in any case."

"This revised bill does not address concerns about the SIS's role in
surveilling people and organisations engaged in lawful political
activities.  Along with its companion amendment, it is a further affront to
basic civil and political rights and another step down the road of
criminalising dissent", he said.=20


 For further comment, contact Aziz Choudry (03) 3662803