Protestors slam big brother state
Protestors and a law professor have criticised the Government for a massive increase in surveillance of political
activists over the past few years.
At a central Auckland protest on Saturday, which called for charges against Tuhoe tribe members to be dropped, veteran
protestor John Minto said that the police had overreacted during the so-called terror raids last year.
Click to enlarge
John Minto and Mike Treen from Global Peace and Justice
He said there has definitely been an increase in surveillance of political activists in the last six years.
“In fact in my lifetime this [the raids] would be the single biggest attack on civil liberties that I’ve ever seen.” he
said.
He explained heightened surveillance jeopardises New Zealanders’ rights to dissent and warned Kiwis are in danger of
losing these rights.
Click to enlarge
“It’s really important that New Zealanders wake up to the fact that if we don’t defend our rights we will lose them,” he
said.
Minto went on to say the police have had a massive injection of money over the past six years and that they were using
this to profile protest groups, rather than terrorists.
Auckland City Police communications manager Noreen Hegarty said the New Zealand Police do not often spy on protest
groups, but they sometimes receive tip-offs from members of the public who are concerned about planned illegal
activities.
Click to enlarge
She added that communication in New Zealand is quite open and there is a lot of information on blogs and websites.
“It is not difficult to find out what is going on,” she said.
Auckland law professor Jane Kelsey said she disagrees with the State using powers in the name of anti-terrorism against
political dissidents.
“It’s a dangerous trend and if we allow this to go unopposed, we don’t know who’s next,” she said.
However, Hegarty said the Police need to get High Court permission to spy on someone electronically and good evidence is
needed for this.
When asked if increased surveillance has been necessary since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Minto said New Zealand’s
non-participation in the Iraq war means the country is not a terror target.
He said there are no terrorists in New Zealand, unlike Australia and Britain where terrorist activities have occurred.
Hegarty said the New Zealand Police would be irresponsible to not increase surveillance after the 2001 attacks.
“The world has changed considerably since 9/11. The New Zealand Police would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that,”
she said.
She added police often detect terrorism before it happens. “A lot of stuff is going on that you would not be aware of.”
ENDS
*************