11 November 2021
GCSB Director-General Andrew Hampton:
The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) leadership team has made the decision to decommission and remove
the Waihopai Station radomes and dishes after more than 30 years of service.
Changes in global telecommunications and information technology mean the interception of satellite communications from
Waihopai has declined over the years to the point where dish use is now virtually obsolete.
To further underscore this decision, the dishes have reached their structural end-of-life and will in the coming years
require significant investment were they to remain operational. This funding can be more usefully invested in other
intelligence capabilities.
While the dishes and the radomes will come down, the Waihopai Station will continue to operate and support the Bureau’s
ongoing national security activities.
To give a picture of their dwindling use, in the past year less than 0.5 percent of the intelligence reports produced by
the GCSB were based on dish collection from Waihopai.
Satellite communication interception is only one of the intelligence collection methods the GCSB is able to use under
the Intelligence and Security Act 2017.
More modern methods collect more targeted communications, and these other forms of intelligence collection are now more
effective and efficient at contributing to the Government’s National Security and Intelligence Priorities than the type
of satellite communication interception undertaken at Waihopai.
The way in which the GCSB works has evolved, and will continue to evolve, alongside changes in technology. The GCSB
needs to continuously assess and update its capabilities to ensure they contribute to the fullest extent possible to the
Government’s Priorities, as well as respond to rapidly evolving technology, and to the security threats New Zealand
faces.
While GCSB’s activities always need to be undertaken in accordance with the Government’s Priorities, and the law, we do
work closely with our international partners, particularly the Five Eyes.
The Deputy Director-General Intelligence and I have discussed the discontinuation of the satellite interception mission
with our Five Eyes counterparts, who continue to value the unique contribution GCSB makes to the partnership through our
other capabilities.
The first of the two 18-metre diameter dishes and radomes was constructed and began operating in 1989, with a second
dish and radome added in 1998. The dishes and radomes are expected to be removed next year.