Press release: May 26, 2013.

'The GCSB and the lives of others' – Public Meeting, 27 May, Wellington

Nicky Hager, Keith Locke and Michael Bott will discuss the implications of the GCSB´s illegal spying on 88 New Zealanders.

Under the banner 'The GCSB and the Lives of Others' the three will look at state intelligence and surveillance in New Zealand. They all have particular interest and knowledge in the area: investigative reporter Nicky Hager was one of the first people to expose Echelon; former Green MP Keith Locke became the subject of state surveillance at the age of 11 and Michael Bott is is a human rights lawyer and member of the Civil Liberties Council of NZ who often speaks out and debates against injustices.

OASIS spokesperson, Anna Thorby, said, “Issues discussed will include Paul Neazor's arguably unclear report into the 88 incidents, reported on second-hand by GSCB Director Ian Fletcher, and that report will be compared with his report last year into the spying on Dotcom and his co-accused.

“In September last year Neazor said the confusion was over Dotcom's immigration status, Neazor had no problem with the GCSB Act itself – he said the Act is clear. This year, in contrast, he found the Act confusing.

“Neazor's obviously confused. Rebecca Kitteridge has written a clearer report: 88 people were illegally spied on. People should take the Privacy Commissioner's advice and ask the GCSB if they were one of the 88.”

The introduction of the the GCSB & Related Legislation Amendment Bill under urgency by Government will also be discussed at the meeting.

“It is becoming too common a practice for NZ governments to legalise illegalities by amending laws,” said Ms Thorby.

The question of why we actually need the GCSB, what is Echelon and what role the GCSB plays in the UKUSA Agreement will also be raised.

“People should be worried about the ever expanding powers of the state to spy on them,” concluded Ms Thorby. “We need to reject the increasing surveillance of our lives.”

The public meeting entitled "The GCSB and the lives of others", will be held tomorrow, Monday, May 27 at 6pm, at the Wellington Library.

The meeting is organised by the Wellington group OASIS ("Organising Against State Intelligence And Surveillance").

The GCSB and the lives of others
When: Monday, May 27, 2013, 6pm
Where: Mezzanine Room, Wellington Central Library Who: Nicky Hager, Keith Locke and Michael Bott Organised by OASIS - "Organising Against State Intelligence And Surveillance", a group formed when the NZ SIS Amendment Bill was introduced in 2010. The group aims to raise awareness around the issues of state surveillance.

ENDS

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