UNCLASSIFIED
The Islamic Women’s Council’s annual conference speech
Background
Date
Saturday 15 July 2017
Address
190 Church Street, Palmerston North
Timing
Speaking for 15 minutes as part of a panel, questions from the audience
Followed by lunch
Audience 100-200 Islamic women
Topic
Introduction to the role of the NZSIS
Your own background
Accountability and transparency
Speaking notes
• Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of your annual
conference. It is a privilege to be here and I am grateful to Anjum
for her kind invitation to be part of today’s panel.
• This morning, I would like to spend a little bit of time talking about
my own background and how I have come to the role of Director
of Security.
• I would also like to talk about the work that the NZSIS does
including how we work as part of the wider New Zealand
Intelligence Community to help keep New Zealand and all New
Zealanders safe.
• From time to time I see pretty weird and inaccurate things written
about my organisation and our work. I very much appreciate the
opportunity to come and talk about the work that we do, and how
we ensure we are as accountable and transparent as possible.
• I’l start with a bit about myself. Like you, I am a daughter, a sister,
an aunt, a wife, and a mother.
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• I have been the Director of Security for three years. It’s a role that
is both very chal enging, and very rewarding.
• I started my career as a family lawyer in private practice. Over time
I put my hand up to try other kinds of litigation, contract and
commercial work. I eventually began drafting legislation and
moved into the public sector – and I have never really looked back.
• In the public sector, I found a purpose and values that resonated
deeply – those of public service, the rule of law, respect for human
rights, and protecting New Zealand’s democratic values. These are
areas I feel real y passionate about.
• The spirit of service continues to be the lens though which I see
my work. And you are a really important part of the community
that I serve.
• I feel very privileged to be in the role of Director at New Zealand
Security Intelligence Service.
• The NZSIS focuses on keeping New Zealand and New Zealanders
secure. Our work can be broadly split into three areas:
o We provide protective security advice and vetting services:
The NZSIS provides advice and support to New Zealand
government agencies and outlines how the Government
expects them to keep themselves secure.
We carry out vetting checks on people who need security
clearances to carry out their work in government. That
includes gathering information from police records, travel
information, interviews and other sources to determine
whether a person is suitable to gain access to classified
material.
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o We are a Security Intelligence Service:
We use a wide variety of sources and methods to identify
threats, collect intelligence, and provide advice to counter
threats to the national security of New Zealand and New
Zealanders at home and abroad.
Threats include terrorism and violent extremism, espionage
conducted by other states, the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction, and hostile cyber activities.
We work closely with other agencies such as the New
Zealand Police, the New Zealand Customs Service, the
Department of Internal Affairs, and Immigration New
Zealand to prevent threats to security progressing to acts of
violence or espionage.
o We provide Foreign Intelligence advice:
Our foreign intelligence work primarily relates to regional
security in the Pacific and includes understanding what
others are doing or intending to do in our region.
Foreign intelligence, and the assessment of it, is vital for
knowing what is going on in the world, whether it is
geostrategic shifts, political or economic instability, or
international security issues.
In this role, the fundamental business of intelligence is about
helping decision makers make informed decisions and
manage risks to New Zealand’s interests.
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• To deliver on our mission and keep New Zealand and New
Zealanders safe, we work alongside other agencies in the New
Zealand Intelligence Community, including the GCSB and the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and with our
international partners.
• We all play a specific role in relation to National Security.
o The NZSIS focuses on human intel igence. That is, gathering
intel igence through people.
o The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)
focuses on signals intel igence. They work in the electronic
sphere.
o The intelligence collection from both agencies helps the
National Assessment Bureau within the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) to make assessments to
inform Government decision-making.
• Given the particular nature of the work that we do, our legal
framework is really important, especially in ensuring we are as
accountable and transparent as possible.
• It is this legal framework that establishes the outcomes we need to
deliver both as an agency and as an intelligence community, and
the powers that we have to deliver these outcomes.
• Originally formed in 1956, the New Zealand Security Service was
only placed on a legislative footing in 1969. That Act has been
amended over time but, until recently, has never been
comprehensively reviewed.
• And, as I’m sure you can appreciate, there have been significant
changes in technology and capability since 1969!
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• On 28 March this year, the Intel igence and Security Act was
passed with the first provisions coming into force on 1 April. Most
of the Act, including the NZSIS becoming a government
department, will come into force on 28 September.
• The new legislation was developed as a result of the first
Independent review of Intelligence and Security carried out by
Dame Patsy Reddy (who is now the Governor-General) and Sir
Michael Cullen.
• A key objective of both the Intelligence and Security Review and
the subsequent legislation was to ensure that the public would be
better informed about the intelligence and security agencies’ work
and their legal parameters. Until now our legislation said almost
nothing about what we actual y do. That wil change.
• From my perspective, greater clarity and transparency in the law
can only be a good thing, both for NZSIS and the public.
• Another important element of the Act is that it enables closer
working relationships across the New Zealand Intel igence
Community and particularly between the NZSIS and the GCSB.
• For example, the new legislation creates a common set of
purposes, objectives and functions for the NZSIS and GCSB.
• Ultimately, the purpose of the new Act is to protect New Zealand
as a free, open, and democratic society. And the Act is very
specific about how we must go about doing that:
o in accordance with New Zealand law and human rights
obligations recognised by New Zealand law,
o independently and impartial y,
o with integrity and professionalism, and
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o in a manner that facilitates effective democratic oversight.
• The Act also states that we must take all reasonable steps to make
sure our activities are political y neutral.
• Our activities also must not limit freedom of expression. The Act
states:
“The exercise by any person in New Zealand or any class of
persons in New Zealand of their right to freedom of expression under
the law (including the right to advocate protest or dissent) does not of
itself justify an intel igence and security agency taking any action in
respect of that person of class of persons.”
• The Act also makes it clear that we have no powers of law
enforcement. There is a clear difference between us and Police.
• These principles are hugely important. They make it explicit that –
by way of contrast with some intel igence agencies in other
countries – we cannot be used as a tool of political oppression, we
must observe human rights, and we are not above the law.
• But the question is for you and other New Zealanders, how are
you going to know that? The problem is that most of our work, by
necessity, is classified. That makes it difficult for you to judge how
we are doing our work and whether we are complying with our
legislation.
• What this means is that effective oversight of our activities is really
important to provide New Zealanders and the Government with
confidence that we adhere to the law and to democratic principles.
So we have very strong oversight. That oversight includes:
o The Inspector-General of Intel igence and Security and her
office – the key oversight body of the NZIC. There are eight full-
time staff in the Office of the Inspector-General, and they are
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able to look at al our systems and al our information to ensure
that our activities are lawful, proportionate and proper.
o The IGIS conducts reviews, investigates complaints from
members of the Public and carries out investigations. She
publishes al her reports on her website.
o Next is the Intelligence and Security Committee, provides the
parliamentary oversight for intel igence agencies. The
Committee is more focused on how we are doing as an
organisation, whether we are effective and efficient, how we are
spending our government funding and so on. The Committee
has three Government members and two Opposition members,
and is chaired by the Prime Minister.
o We are also subject to oversight by the Ombudsman and
Privacy Commissioner. Like al government agencies, the NZSIS
complies with the Official Information Act and Privacy Act –
although we have some exemptions. If a member of the public
is not satisfied with the NZSIS’s response to an information
request, they may ask the Ombudsman or the Privacy
Commissioner to investigate.
• This oversight helps us to build public confidence and trust.
• That is real y important. We know that to be successful we need
the support of the New Zealand public. Our work relies on people
being happy to work with us and to help us, and mostly they are.
• We also need the support of our domestic partners (like Customs,
Immigration, and Police) and our international partners. We
cannot succeed in our work if we operate in isolation. Our
domestic and international partners also need to know that we are
doing the right thing in the right way when they share sensitive
information with us or conduct operational work with us.
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• Another important part of this picture of greater accountability
and transparency is having a stronger public dialogue about
security issues and the work of the intelligence agencies.
• The NZSIS has not always had a very visible public presence. While
the NZSIS handles secret information, we need not be a secret
organisation. New Zealanders rightly feel they have a stake in the
discourse on national security. As I have already said, I believe
greater clarity and transparency is a real y good thing, both for
NZSIS and the public.
• We aim to be as open as we can. In the past couple of years the
NZSIS has actively increased our efforts to engage more with the
public. I have made a real effort to get out and speak publicly, to
answer questions freely, and to give periodic interviews with the
media. And we have staff in various centres who spend time
engaging with communities and community leaders.
• When we engage with you in your various communities, our goal is
to understand your community and help you to be safe.
• Because, in the end, our interests are completely aligned. We
serve you as part of New Zealand. The consequences of an attack
would be terrible for all of us.
• We support New Zealand’s democratic values. That includes
freedom of expression, the right of assembly and freedom of faith.
It also includes the right for everybody to feel safe and secure, and
to live together peacefully.
• The better we can understand your communities, the more we are
able to fulfil that role.
• We sincerely appreciate the fact that you do talk with us. The
people who seek to harm our communities aim to hide their
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intentions and actions from us and from the people around them.
In these cases we may need your help to find out what is going on.
So engaging with each other can play an important part in
protecting communities and keeping everyone safe.
• So that’s us. This presentation and presentations like it are part of
helping to tell the story of what we do and the positive
contribution that we make to New Zealand.
• Thank you again for inviting me to be here with you today.
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Document Outline
