New Zealand Security Intelligence Service - Public Profile

Public Profile

The SIS has become involved in a number of public incidents and controversies since its creation in 1956:

• In 1974, the SIS was the source of information that led to the arrest of Bill Sutch, an economist and former civil servant, on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. Sutch was acquitted, and the SIS was criticised for having accused him in the first place, although it has been alleged that the SIS was correct in its accusation.
• In 1981, the SIS was criticised for drawing up a list of 20 "subversives" who participated in protests against the 1981 Springbok Tour, a visit by South Africa's apartheid rugby team. That singling out of individuals as "subversives" was deemed by many to be a violation of the right to protest government decisions.
• Also in 1981, an SIS operative inadvertently left a briefcase, containing a copy of Penthouse, three cold meat pies, and notes of a dinner party hosted by a German diplomat, on a journalist's fence in Wellington, where it was found by the son of another journalist, Fran O'Sullivan.
• In 1985, the SIS failed to detect the French operation in which DGSE operatives bombed the Greenpeace vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, killing a photographer. This was probably the most significant case of espionage or terrorism in New Zealand.
• In 1996, two SIS agents were discovered breaking into the home of Aziz Choudry, an organiser with GATT Watchdog, which was holding a public forum and rally against an APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Trade Ministers meeting hosted in Christchurch, prompting charges that the SIS had violated his rights, and had acted illegally. After the Court of Appeal ruled that the SIS had indeed illegally entered his property, exceeding their legislated powers of interception, Parliament moved swiftly to amend the NZSIS Act once again to explicitly give the SIS powers of entry into private property, although public submissions on the proposed amendment were weighted heavily against any such expansion of their powers. In 1999, Choudry was awarded an out-of-court settlement and an apology from the Crown.
• In 2002, the SIS reported that Ahmed Zaoui, an Algerian seeking asylum in New Zealand, was a security risk and recommended his deportation. However, this recommendation was challenged. The SIS issued a security risk certificate pursuant to section 114 of the Immigration Act 1987 and Zaoui was detained in a penal institution under a warrant of commitment. The SIS refused to release some highly classified information which it used to determine Zaoui's status as a security risk. Alleged comments made by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, who monitors the SIS, were considered by some to be openly biased against Zaoui. As a result of the resulting controversy, the Inspector General, Laurie Greig, resigned in March 2004. Former Solicitor General, Paul Neazor, was appointed to replace Greig. The security risk certificate on Zaoui has since been lifted by the SIS, and he has been allowed to stay in New Zealand.
• In 2004, allegations surfaced that the SIS was spying on Māori individuals and organisations, including those associated with the new Māori Party, for political purposes under the codename "Operation Leaf." A government inquiry led by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security later rejected these claims in April 2005, however. As a result, the Prime Minister, Helen Clark said the allegations were a hoax and asked the Sunday Star Times newspaper that printed them to apologise to their readers. A full apology and retraction was subsequently printed on the front page of the paper.
• In July 2004, the SIS was criticised for not knowing that Israeli "intelligence contract assets" had been in New Zealand purchasing New Zealand passports. Apparently the SIS only became aware after the New Zealand Police found out, mainstream New Zealand news publications reported. The case became world news and an embarrassment for SIS and Mossad intelligence agencies. Two of the Israelis involved (Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara who had been based in Australia) were deported to Israel, while two other contractors believed to be purchasing passports (American Ze'ev Barkan and New Zealander David Reznic) left New Zealand before they were caught - and have presumably roamed free ever since.
• In December 2008, it was revealed that a man in Christchurch, Rob Gilchrist, had been spying on peace organisations and individuals including Greenpeace, Iraq war protestors, animal rights and climate change campaigners. Rob Gilchrist confessed to the allegations after his then partner, Rochelle Rees, found emails sent between him and Special Investigation Group (SIG) officers (SIG has a connection with the SIS). Rees found the emails while fixing Gilchrist's computer. Gilchrist was said to have passed on information via an anonymous email address to SIG officers. Gilchrist had been paid up to $600 a week by police for spying on New Zealand citizens. His SIG contacts were Detective Peter Gilroy and Detective Senior Sergeant John Sjoberg. Gilchrist was reported to have been spying for the police for at least 10 years. Gilchrist also said he was offered money by Thomson Clark Investigations to spy on the Save Happy Valley Coalition, an environmental group. The incident implied members of New Zealand political parties were spied on as part of a 'focus on terrorism threats to national security'. Rochelle Rees was a Labour party activist as well as an animal rights campaigner.
• In November 2009, the SIS came under criticism for asking university staff to report their colleagues or students if they were behaving suspiciously. The SIS said it was part of an effort to prevent the spread of 'weapons of mass destruction'.
• In July 2011, the SIS was involved in an investigation of Israeli backpackers who were in New Zealand at the time of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, in which one of the Israelis was killed. The Israelis were alleged to have been Mossad agents attempting to infiltrate the New Zealand government's computer databases and steal sensitive information. The investigation concluded that there was no evidence of a Mossad operation.