New GCSB Powers Are Facist And Dangerous Warns Mana
Hone Harawira, Leader of MANA and MP for Te Tai Tokerau
8 May 2013

"The Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Bill is fascist and dangerous," says MANA Leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira. “Any government that demands this level of surveillance over its people is a direct threat to their freedom and democracy.”

"The Prime Minister was supposed to kick the GCSB’s arse for illegally spying on at least 85 Kiwis, but what he’s doing instead is ramming through, under urgency, a bill that will not only justify those unlawful actions, it will also erode NZ's civil liberties so that the Police, the Secret Intelligence Service, the military and even private companies can get access to the GCSB spying on citizens.

“He’s granting corporations access to the private information of New Zealanders who protest their illegal procedures and unsafe products” said Harawira. “He is prioritising corporate profits over the rights of NZ citizens. It’s an absolute bloody disgrace.”

"By being able to simply list a class of people to justify a search warrant rather than provide details on specific individuals, the GCSB can now spy on every Greenpeace member, MANA member, Union member, Green Party member, Labour Party member, Amnesty International member, Oxfam member, peace activist and any Maori who has ever voiced a critical opinion.”

“It also means that the GCSB can now spy on anyone in Tuhoe just because they don’t like Tame Iti, on Ngapuhi for refusing to acknowledge the authority of the Crown, and on anyone for daring to join a picket against a corrupt employer.”

“This bill is a direct threat to the democratic process because it will allow the PM to make deeply personal information available to political appointees without justification, and opens the door to wide scale human rights abuses.”

“And because GCSB staff will receive harsh penalties under this new law if they go public with complaints about who they spy on, there’ll be even less scrutiny about what is actually happening.”

"This is military grade spying being turned on a civilian population. It is insidious, it is dangerous, it is fascist, and MANA will resist it at every stage.

ENDS

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