Wednesday, 14 October 2009, 2:59 pm
Press Release: October 15th Solidarity
Media Release: Search and Surveillance Submissions a sick joke

From: October 15th Solidarity
Date: 14 October 2009

"Is it an act of provocation and arrogance or just simple ignorance that the Justice and Electoral Select Committee is meeting on the 15th of October to hear submissions on the Search and Surveillance Bill?" asked Peter Steiner of the October 15th Solidarity Group.

Two years ago to the day, New Zealand woke to the so-called 'Terror Raids'. Police Operation 8 was in full swing; Ruatoki was locked down, a school bus was stopped, other children were held in sheds and over 60 different places across the country were raided. 17 people ended up remanded in custody. It took a month for all of them to get bail.

"This bill legalises the dodgy and arguably illegal police tactics used in Operation 8. It is not at all extreme to suggest that this law creates a police state. The Parliamentary response to police breaking the law should not be to retrospectively legalise what they have done and give them more power."

Referring to the recent release of many SIS files, Peter Steiner said, \"People have been appalled at the information contained in SIS files, they find it ludicrous that children as young as ten were followed. However, what is often over-looked is the fact that many of us are regularly under surveillance by the police, as proved in Operation 8 files.

"If the Bill comes to pass," Peter Steiner said, "the laws in this land will be fundamentally altered."

Peter Steiner explained that the Search and Surveillance Bill will allow more enforcement agencies to use more surveillance devices. It will also allow more searches without warrants. And very chillingly, the right to silence is removed.

"Using an Examination Order," he explained, "someone can be ordered to go to a certain place to answer questions from the police. People will be ordered to report for interrogation, if they do not talk, they can be charged."

At the time of the raids, there was public disbelief at the rampant state paranoia that obviously existed. There was shock at the level of police surveillance, including the knowledge that thousands of people's TradeMe accounts were looked at. And there was deep disgust expressed at the actions of the police in Ruatoki. Many people were offended by the police erecting a road block on the confiscation line.

Now, two years later, whilst some of those people caught up in the raids are commemorating the event with 'Explosive Expression', an art exhibition in Wellington, others will be in Parliament on the 15th presenting submissions against the Search and Surveillance Bill.

Some of the people caught up in the road block have contributed art work to Explosive Expression and are in Wellington this week.

"We invite people to visit the art exhibition at Thistle Hall." said Peter Steiner. "But we also ask people to speak out against the Search and Surveillance Bill. This Bill must be stopped."

13-17th October: Explosive Expression - Creative Resistance to the State Terror Raids of October \'07 at Thistle Hall Gallery. The exhibition features amazing work from over 50 artists including Gil Hanly and Tame Iti. A video of the artworks is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBUVa...

Human Rights commissioner Rosslyn Noonan says a new law giving non-police agencies greater powers to snoop is "chilling" and "disproportionately invasive".

The Search and Surveillance Bill, now before the justice and electoral select committee, sets out the powers police have to search and monitor people, but also extends powers to other agencies, such as the Commerce Commission and local authorities.

They will be able to secure warrants to use surveillance devices, such as cameras, search computers remotely and search vehicles without a warrant.

Ms Noonan said those agencies needed to justify having extra powers.

"It's quite chilling, really. In New Zealand we have the police force, which most New Zealanders have considerable trust and respect for ... with most of these other agencies the community as a whole wouldn't even know who they are and suddenly they have got all these powers."

She conceded the legislation needed to be updated but said many of the powers were disproportionately invasive given the agencies' responsibilities.

Other legal experts say the new powers, based on a 2007 Law Commission report, could be vulnerable to abuse.

Ralph Simpson, partner in commercial law firm Bell Gully, said police were trained and reasonably responsible in the use of surveillance powers, but other agencies were not qualified.

Agencies in Britain had received similar powers and had abused them, with some councils using surveillance devices "to detect dogs crapping on other people's lawns", he said.

Non-police agencies did not need surveillance powers and the police could do it for them if needed, he said.

"Why does the Overseas Investment Office need the ability to search my car?

"If you look at local government or the Commerce Commission, why do they need access to put video cameras or listening devices on private property? It's a pretty significant invasion of property."

Surveillance devices should be used on private property only to gather evidence on serious offending, he said.

Council for Civil Liberties spokesman Michael Bott said the extension of extra powers to these agencies raised serious concerns.

"Have these state agencies got Bill of Rights training and are they rights-sensitive? Have they got police training and institutional knowledge?"

A provision allowing police to require people to answer questions was "repugnant", he said.

Police Association vice-president Chris Cahill said it was important that agencies had powers to investigate in areas police could not, but they would need to be trained and use those powers appropriately.

The bill would also allow police to search without warrants if they thought there was evidence of a serious crime punishable by 14 years' jail or more, and that any delay could mean evidence was destroyed; and to detain a person at the scene of a search

THE BILL
* Removes right to silence for person suspected of having evidence in crime with three or more suspects.
* Widens provision for searches without warrant.
* Allows copying of material stored on computers and remote searches of computers.
* Increases covert investigative powers of the Commerce Commission, the Reserve Bank, Customs and Ministries of Agriculture and of Fisheries.
* Gives power to detain anyone at scene of search.

ABOVE COPIED DIRECTLY FROM THE HERALD WEBSITE