[asia-apec 977] GATT Watchdog on NZ SIS Law Change Committee

[Gatt Watchdog]

                               MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
December 16 1998

SIS Law Change Committee Heavily Biased - GATT Watchdog 

GATT Watchdog says that it is unreasonable for people to take seriously the
Prime Minister's assurances that public submissions on the bill which is
intended to give the government's spy agency the right to break and enter
homes will be considered before the legislation is passed.

"The composition of the committee which she has named is identical to the
current prime ministerial committee which includes Mrs Shipley, Don McKinnon,
Helen Clark, and Mike Moore.  All of these people have publicly stated their
support for the law change.  So this committee - which is not a select
committee - cannot be expected to be impartial" said Leigh Cookson, a
spokeswoman for the group.

"What is worse is that for organisations like us, and for many other groups,
unions and individuals, there is outright hostility from the politicians on
this committee towards our political and economic views on APEC, the free
market and trade and investment liberalisation.  So we can be sure we will not
get a fair hearing on the concerns which we have expressed about the way the
1996 SIS Amendment Act expanded the role of the SIS to protect New Zealand's
international and economic wellbeing being used to spy on people who oppose
this market economic agenda."

"More and more people are viewing the SIS as the government's secret,
unaccountable thought police."

"How can we expect a man like Mike Moore, who has described us as "primitives"
who if we had our way would plunge New Zealand and the region into chaos and
depression, and "grumpy geriatric communists" who tuck our shirts into our
underpants to take any kind of objective view on this issue?  How can we
expect Mrs Shipley to listen given her trumpeting of how APEC is supposed to
be a "passport out of poverty" for us all at the recent APEC Leaders Summit?."

"Labour are really gutless to be going along with this legislation.
Swapping personal SIS stories from their past as they did in their caucus
meeting yesterday is one thing.  Standing up for the right of people to voice
their dissent to APEC and on other issues is another.  But they clearly lack
the gumption to do this."

"People need to remember that in 1996 a range of organisations and individuals
warned of the implications of expanding SIS powers in submissions made on the
new legislation that was being considered back then.  We were told by both
National and Labour that we were being naive and paranoid."

"The reality is that the paranoia appears to rest fairly and squarely with the
government and the naivete with Labour, who are about to jointly back
legislation which has as its clear subtext the agenda to silence dissent in
time for the APEC meetings next year" she said.

Further comment: Leigh Cookson, GATT Watchdog, (03) 3662803