OIA Response IR 01 24 29907.pdf

IR-01-24-29907
12 September 2024
Scott
[FYI request #28159 email]
Tēnā koe Scott
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request on 23 August 2024 in which you
asked for the fol owing information:
This request is for documents relating to the participation of Police staff at the recent New
Zealand Institute of Intel igence Professionals annual conference 2024.(…)
ONE: For the speeches, addresses, etc made by Director of National Intel igence Dr Dan
Wildy, I would like to request copies of al  speech notes, talking points and other
presentation materials (e.g. PowerPoint slides) he used.
National Manager Analytics and Operations, John O’Reil y
TWO: For the speeches, addresses, etc made by National Manager Analytics and
Operations John O’Reil y, I would like to request copies of all speech notes, talking points
and other presentation materials (e.g. PowerPoint slides) he used.
THREE: For any other presentations, speeches, talks, addresses etc made by Police
staff at this conference I would like to request copies of all speech notes, talking points
and other presentation materials used by these staff.
In response to your request, please find attached speech notes used by Dr Dan Wildy and
speech notes and a Powerpoint presentation used by John O’Reilly MNZM at the New Zealand
Institute of Intelligence Professionals Annual Conference which took place on 22 August 2024.
I trust this information is of assistance.
Yours sincerely
Dan Wildy PhD
Director National Intelligence
New Zealand Police

Page 1 of 6
NZIIP Annual Conference, 22 August 2024, Parliament

Ka tangi te titi, ka tangi te kaka, ka tangi hoki ahau
and Chief Executive of the Dept of the PM and Cabinet – Ben King.
We are grateful to both these leaders for making time as leading
Tihei mauri ora
public sector figures to share their insights and aspirations for our
E te whare - tēnā koe
profession with us today.
E te marae Paremata Aotearoa, tēnā koe
We also have other key figures from across the public, private, and
E Papatūānuku a Ranginui, tēnā korua
tertiary sector, sharing their thoughts on the topic of Demystifying
Intelligence. To all our speakers and panellists, thank you. We
E te re karanga, tēnā koe
would not have a conference without you and our professional
E te iwi tonei, tēnā koutou
knowledge is, or will be, richer after hearing your collective
experiences and perspectives.
E mihi nei ki te karanga, e mihi nei matou, ki te reo mahi heihei
mahi, ki te reo kaitiakitanga.
Thank you also to KPMG – our naming sponsor for this event and
their generous support of this year’s NZIIP Conference. KPMG has
Ko Dan toku ingoa
for many years been a quiet contributor to intel igence in the public
Ko te tiamana o NZ Institute of Intel igence Professionals ahau
sector, with a depth of experience and appreciation for what we do
as a profession.
Kia ora koutou katoa
And thank you to the award-winning team from Fivecast for their
Great turn out / acknowledge the land we are on, the people of
support also, and I encourage everyone to visit their stand to learn
the land, and the special venue we once again have the opportunity
a bit more about the company and their open-source solutions.
to host our annual conference within. My thanks to Kura Moeahu
for representing mana whenua today, and MP Dan Bidois for
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sponsoring our use of this iconic location.
At last year’s conference I noted that we have a vibrant and
Welcome guests / senior officials / and members of the
growing profession. This very much remains the case, with the
intelligence profession. Today’s conference agenda has a number
value of intel igence increasingly recognised, resulting in the
of fantastic speakers. We have already heard from the Director
expansion of intel igence into new areas of the public and private
General GCSB, Andrew Clark, and will later hear from the Secretary
sector.

Page 2 of 6
NZIIP Annual Conference, 22 August 2024, Parliament

While public sector growth has recently slowed in line with
of what we do, most of the time, can be talked about. Further, it
reductions in public sector spending, the growth in demand for
should be talked about.
intel igence has not diminished. While spending may be
We’ve long relied on former intelligence professionals and
constrained, the value of intelligence continues to be recognised,
commentators such as General Michael Hayden, Mark Lowenthal,
with continued growth of the sector likely in the coming years.
and John Hughes-Wilson to represent us. But the Public and our
Our conference today is a case in point. We sold out of tickets in
leaders want current and contemporary understanding of our roles
record time, even in a time of austerity, vacancies, and high
even if we must be nuanced to protect ours and others’ equities.
workloads. Intelligence remains a dynamic career field: one very
Intel igence is fundamental y about supporting better decisions
much in demand by decision makers, as well as one full of
through the provision of robust, reliable, balanced, complete,
passionate professionals.
timely, and accurate, insight and foresight. Kingi Tawhiao Pōtatau
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Te Wherowhero stated this much in the 19th Century, and little has
With respect to our conference theme today – Demystifying
changed in our leaders’ expectations. And the people who do
Intel igence
intelligence are values-driven, ethical, and law-abiding New
, I thought I would briefly speak to NZIIP’s roadmap and
Zealanders committed to making New Zealand a safer, more
what we are doing as an Institute to support this work and to
ensure we are never again described by a serving PM as an arcane
prosperous, place to live. We should therefore feel comfortable,
even confident, about seeking opportunities to demystify what we
niche.
do.
This year’s conference theme – Demystifying Intelligence, aligns
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closely with the overall aims of NZI P. This includes to advocate, set
standards, and provide stewardship for the profession of
At a time when public trust in institutions is declining, we need to
intelligence within New Zealand.
be more open and transparent. We have a good story to tel . The
intelligence profession is diverse and contributes to the public
To do this effectively, we must be open and transparent about
what we do and who we are. Despite some obvious restrictions
good. We contribute to global security, border security, regulatory
compliance, economic security, public safety, digital safety,
around our ability to discuss sensitive sources and methods, most
recovery from natural disasters, national advantage in competitive
markets, and much more.

Page 3 of 6
NZIIP Annual Conference, 22 August 2024, Parliament

Today’s conference provides an opportunity to share some of those
al  of this has been done by a small group of volunteers on the
stories, and more importantly, to discuss how we can share them
NZIIP Board. Each and every board member has gone over and
more broadly. Not only wil  sharing enhance public trust in the
above to support the profession on top of incredibly busy day jobs
profession of intel igence, but the institutions we support through
and personal lives. On behalf of all our members and those present
the advantage we provide to decision makers.
today, I’d like to recognise the Board, and our interns, for their
selflessness.
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In terms of what NZIIP has been doing
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, the last twelve months
have been busy. Our membership sits at a health 486 paid
Before closing my introduction, I’d like to speak briefly to two
members, we’ve held 14 regional and 4 online events averaging 30
points directly relevant to today’s discussion.
attendees per event, we’ve gained 443 LinkedIn followers since
The first is on professionalism. Recently, I listened to an episode of
April this year, been present at career expos, and we’ve launched a
Spycast which included a discussion on the professionalisation of
much needed new website.
OSINT as a distinct intelligence discipline. The interviewer remarked
Coming up later this year, our next virtual event is on Partnerships
how some people assume that because they know how to use the
in Intel igence with 96 registered attendees already, another virtual
internet and stalk people through social media, this effectively
event discussing Intel igence in Emergency Management, a Writing
meant they could do OSINT. The guest’s retort to this was: “just
Course for Intel igence Analysts, and the Annual Awards and AGM
because you can cook, doesn’t make you a chef.”
on the 21st of November. Work will also commence shortly on the
Like being a chef, intelligence is a profession. Just because someone
production of a Regulatory Intel igence Primer, building on the
can do a little research and analysis, producing a degree of insight,
work of the foundations laid by the publishing of the Practitioner’s
does not make them an intelligence professional. There is far more
Handbook last year, and recognising the growing importance of this
to it.
field of Intelligence.
Whether a collector, collator, analyst, or leader, we must have an
Getting to where we are an Institute has not been easy. In the last
artisan’s mindset. One where we want to be masters of our craft,
two years, we have re-branded, delivered a foundational handbook
always learning, always honing and developing, taking on feedback,
in Intelligence Practice, established a Code of Ethics, launched a
fantastic new website, and expanded our events programme. And

Page 4 of 6
NZIIP Annual Conference, 22 August 2024, Parliament

and improving – action by action, product by product, lesson by
speaking to key community stakeholders to dispel negative
lesson.
preconceptions of what intel igence is. Police Intel’s approach to
Being a professional therefore takes time. A short course, a single
OIA responses is also forward leaning, often engaging with the
requestor directly to determine how we can best support their
qualification, does not make someone expert. Training, time in role,
time in different roles, serving in different contexts and
query, signalling that we are aiming for maximum transparency,
while stil  protecting our equities.
environments, leads to deep knowledge and deep knowledge
distinguishes the professional from the cook.
NZIIP certainly has a part to play as advocate for the profession to
enhance public trust and confidence. This we wil  do through our
That is not to say that someone new to the profession is not
professional. What it means is that a commitment to the trade,
new website and steady improvements in our social media
presence to be more visible. But ultimately, it will require an all of
craft, and ethics of intel igence, with a view to upholding those
profession effort to be more transparent and to tell our stories
standards, remaining curious at all times, and being committed to
wel , if we want to be widely viewed as competent and ethical.
learning at every stage of one’s career is what makes someone a
professional.
Demystifying Intelligence is not the job of one organisation or
entity, nor wil  it happen overnight – certainly not in a world where
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trust is in short supply and misconceptions of intel igence abound.
The second point is that if we want to be trusted as a profession,
Demystifying Intelligence is a shared responsibility and it will
the public must see us as both competent and ethical. NZIIP seeks
require years to successfully achieve and maintain.
to contribute to both, offering a fundamentals handbook and
ethical code of practice, while also offering training and
That’s enough from me.
professional development opportunities. But it requires an all of
Thank you.
profession effort.
Enjoy the conference.
Today we will here from Antonia Butler on what the NZIC is doing
with respect to open and transparent engagement. NZ Police too

has been more transparent about who we are and what we do,

publishing our National Intel igence Operating Model online and

Page 5 of 6
NZIIP Annual Conference, 22 August 2024, Parliament

CLOSING

Notes on speakers

Thank you again to all our speakers, panellists, and MCs. This year’s
conference has traversed a subject critical to the health and success

of the Intel igence profession and we are grateful for your

contribution.

I would also like to thank al those operating behind the scenes to

make today a success. First and foremost, Jack Seabrook for leading
the work to make today happen, as well as Josinta Tillet and

Matthew Hal who helped coordinate speakers and connecting us

with several panel ists. Likewise, thank you to Lisa Fong for putting
NZI P in contact with the right people in the NZIC.

To Laila Abada for leading the interns’ production of the

programme, conference bags, website copy and fliers thank you,

and to the interns themselves who do so much for a profession
they aspire to be part of in the future.

In terms of location, my thanks to Tara Terry and Cameron Lim

from Parliamentary Services.

Special mention must go to Donna McQuaid. Donna has been an

absolute revelation for NZI P this year, championing the website,
conference administration, enhancing our public profile, enabling

virtual events – basically doing it all to make NZI P more relevant,

accessible, and successful.

Page 6 of 6
NZIIP Annual Conference, 22 August 2024, Parliament

Before we close, I’d like to remind everyone of the upcoming NZIIP
Annual Awards and AGM on 21 November. Everyday people from
across the profession do incredible things in service to New Zealand
and New Zealanders. Most of this goes unremarked in the public
domain, which is largely how we like it, but as we know, doesn’t
always set us up for success. The Annual Awards, therefore provide
the opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of our peers
and to recognise the best of what we have achieved and
contributed in the past 12 months. And for those concerned about
their last names or faces being exposed, we have categories and
procedures in place to al ow for both public and discrete awards to
be won.
With respect to the AGM, we are always looking for new people to
join the NZI P Board and wil have a number of key positions
available later this year. If you’re interested, please reach out to me
personally, anyone you know on the Board, or through the website.
Finally, thank you all for your time today. It has been a pleasure to
catch up with so many colleagues from across the profession. Have
a wonderful evening and safe travels home.

NZI P Fellows Lecture 2024 – John O’Reil y
‘Trust, Confidence and Credibility; some important traits for an Intel igence Professional’
Introduction
Kia Ora Tatou
(Thank for introduction)
I have framed this lecture around the qualities of trust, confidence and credibility in the context of
demystifying the profession of intelligence. I have chosen these three specific qualities because I
consider them to be important enabling factors that promote a greater understanding of what we
do. We cannot achieve any of our intel igence outputs without the support of decision makers, our
intelligence and non-intelligence colleagues as well as external partners.  Initiatives or processes that
promote the understanding and demystify the intel igence function through trusted, confidential
and credible relationships leads to long term, positive and functional outcomes.  This is especially
important when working on an operation or activity that involves multiple agencies.
The requirement to educate and promote an understanding of the intel igence function is ongoing,
and will never stop. The reason for this is straightforward. You will always encounter new
colleagues, decision makers, partners or members of the public who have no or limited exposure to
the intelligence function and what it can do for them.  It is our role to guide them and give them the
information to enable them to contribute to what we do in a constructive manner.
I am sure you have all experienced situations where people are dismissive or slightly disparaging
about meeting someone involved with the intelligence function. References to spying and over the
top secrecy are commonplace and underline the importance of investing time to educate and
demystify what we do.

The best way of promoting the clear understanding of the intel igence function is when it is done is a
professional, unsensational manner.  There are many misconceptions about the topic of intelligence
and these are best dispel ed through genuine and honest professional dialogue.
One of the best complements you can pay someone in a work context is that they are ‘a
professional’. However, there is a difference between ‘being a professional’ and ‘being
professional’.   ‘Being a professional’ implies education, training and skills. ‘Being professional’ has a
wider gambit. In addition to skills and expertise, it implies respect.  Respect by, and importantly
being respectful of, your colleagues, managers and decision makers. An additional implication is an
expectation to act ethically and that you will complete a task to the best of your ability or available
resources. It is in this wider context of ‘being professional’ that I will discuss promoting the
understanding or demystification of the intel igence function through the application of the qualities
of trust, confidence and credibility and how it contributes to positive inter-agency outcomes.
Trust – Whakawhirinaki
The first quality I will discuss is trust. Trust can be defined as ‘a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or
ability of someone or something’. When I started working at NZ Police four years ago I quickly
registered that ‘policing by consent’ underpinned by ‘public trust and confidence’ are a fundamental
and important tenets for the organisation.
Businessman Kevin Plank describes a successful brand as being built on trust and that ‘trust is built in
drops and lost in buckets’.  Trust in the intelligence function, including yourselves as intelligence
professionals, is the same.  Trust is built up incrementally overtime and can be eroded very quickly if
our decision makers and the wider public do not consider us to be reliable or truthful.
Trust is underpinned by the qualities of: dependability, honesty, humility, being approachable and
authentic as well as having an ability to listen, to be respectful and not to betray or belittle
information given to us confidentially.

The trust quality of being approachable is an important trait associated with enhancing
understanding of the intel igence function.  Being approachable means people feel comfortable
asking questions about the function, or an incident or situation that potentially has intelligence
sensitivities or implications.
I personal y learned the importance of trust in the context of intelligence when I served for four
years in an Infantry Battalion; an infantry battalion is a fighting Army unit comprising 500-600
soldiers and it largely self-sufficient. Along with fighting soldiers it has dedicated medical, transport,
catering, administrative and intelligence sections. Al  these functions heavily rely on one another; no
individual function is more important than another. During the four years with the 2/1 RNZIR I
deployed overseas three times into some challenging threats environments around the Asia/Pacific
region. Having trusted and functional connections across the whole 600 person unit enabled the
intelligence function to quickly tap into relevant threat information and insights to successful y
support our commanders and soldiers to achieve our collective mission.
Intelligence is a team sport, not an end unto itself.
The benefits of having trusted relationships with our colleagues and partners, through enhanced
levels of understanding of what we do and what we need (usually information and data), are many
fold. They include ensuring the intelligence function is involved with any planning early, it is
informed early of factors that inform situational awareness of activity or key events, as well as being
able to utilise our intelligence connections and networks to effect sector wide intelligence and non-
intelligence effects and benefits.
Implicit with these qualities of trust is the expectation to act in an ethical manner. NZI P has a Code
of Ethics that emphasises the special trust placed in our role by the public, decision makers, and the
profession itself. To quote from the NZI P Code of Ethics:

‘The public place a high degree of trust in the professionals who work in this sector, expecting their
activities to be lawful and to contribute to public safety and wel being. There is an expectation that
intel igence activities wil  be conducted only when necessary, with effective use of resources, respect
for privacy, proportionality, and accountability for mistakes and failures.’
As an aside, I recently attending an Army reunion at Christchurch. I know an Army reunion sounds
cliché, but amongst the positive energy of catching up and storytelling, was a discussion with some
colleagues where we recalled a complex operation to secure and detain a group of East Timorese
militia members who had been violently threatening and taxing defenceless villagers. Upon the
successful resolution of this operation the intelligence function was encouraged to unlawfully
question the captured detainees. This encouragement was resisted, despite pressure being applied,
and the detainees were handed over to the Police and sent to Dili. The thing that struck me about
this conversation was not the fact that this complex operation was very successful and was very well
executed, but the conversation recalled 24 years after the event how the intel igence function was
trusted and acted in an ethical manner.
Confidence - Whakamanawa
The second quality I will talk about is confidence, specifically public and organisational confidence.
Public and organisational confidence can be defined as ‘the feeling or belief that the public, or an
organisation, can have faith in, or rely on someone or something’. This means the public or
organisation believe that the intelligence function wil  undertake their role within the bounds of the
law, appropriate direction and the resources available.  Importantly, in order for the public or an
organisation to have faith that the intel igence function will do what they believe to be correct, they
need to broadly understand what the intelligence function does. This highlights the importance of
demystifying what we do as intelligence professionals. This doesn’t mean that you reveal sensitive
information or compromise operational activity. It means that the intelligence function needs to
ensure that the public and their supported organisations broadly understand what intelligence is,

how they function and what are the limitations of their role.  NZIIP as well as government
organisations which have an intelligence remit or function, all have a responsibility to regularly
educate both the public and the wider central and local government sectors.
Sometimes the intel igence products we author include a ‘confidence statement’. A confidence
statement is usual y a judgement about the scope, breadth and quality of information used to
inform an assessment.  This allows the decision maker or reader to gain a sense about an analyst’s
confidence in an assessment, or highlight sections of the assessment where there is lesser degree of
confidence than other sections. Normally an intelligence function will not release an assessment
where it includes a low confidence statement supporting its key judgements. This situation would
normal y see the unbiased re-tasking of collection of information to increase levels of confidence to
inform key judgements prior a report is released. The exception to this is unfolding time critical
incident where an assessment needs to made to inform the initial response.  In this situation the
shortcomings of the information (a confidence statement) is made clear at the time.  My own rule of
thumb for a critical incident is that usually 50 percent of the information you initially receive is
incorrect; the challenge is working out which 50 percent, especially in the mis/dis-information rich
environment we live in.  A flow of corroborated factually correct information usually takes 30
minutes or longer depending on the situation.
Variations of the word ‘confidence’ in an intelligence context are the related terms of ‘in confidence’
and ‘confidential’. These have the meaning that someone is confiding in you or the information
being conveyed has privacy, commercial or intelligence sensitivities. Part of the wider education of
the public, or within your organisation, about intelligence matters is that sensitive information will
be carefully managed and the sources of the information wil  be protected.  This education is
important so that people know that they can trust the intelligence function to keep the source safe.

Credibility - Whaimana
The last quality I will discuss is credibility.  Credibility can be defined variously as: being capable of
being believed, worthy of confidence, reliable and worthy of other people's trust. You can see that
this quality of credibility has a large overlap with the previous two qualities of trust and confidence.
Sometimes you encounter the term ‘acting on credible intelligence’.  This infers that a decision
maker is acting on intelligence where there is a high level of confidence that the information and the
analysis is correct. A recent example of the use of this term was from the Canadian Government
when it publically stated that had “very credible intel igence that causes us to be deeply concerned”
when referring to the assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada.
There is also a cumulative perception component associated with credibility. Organisational teams’
academic Dr Mindy Hall describes this as ‘every action or perceived inaction shapes credibility’.
Essentially, the credibility of the intelligence function is judged by the way we act or don’t act.  Over
time, the public and decision makers make a judgement about how much they trust the function
based on what we get right, and importantly, how we are seen to be accountable for any errors in
assessment or predictive analysis.
There is also an ethical component associated with being credible.  WW2 Army Counter Intelligence
Sergeant, and later US Secretary of State, Dr Henry Kissinger describes credibility in terms of ‘the
important thing is to do the right thing. Then credibility will follow’. This statement highlights the
close linkage between credibility and intelligence ethics.  This is especial y important when pressure
is placed on an intelligence professional to be all knowing, or potentially situate an intelligence
assessment to conform to a convenient narrative that it not supported by applied analysis. It is okay
for an intelligence professional to say ‘I do not know the answer to that question’. It is also
important that decision makers trust their intelligence function to give them credible assessments
and intelligence, and that they are not swayed by pressure to please a decision maker or because
the intelligence does not support their plans or strategy.

Col aboration – Pāhekoheko – the inter-agency effect
Trust, confidence, and credibility also are important factors that support functional inter-agency
operations and activity; essentially supporting a systemic approach to intelligence collaboration.
There is nothing better than a well-coordinated inter-agency operation. This is where agencies have
a col ective clarity of purpose, all agencies are all informed; there is functional coordination and
communication between contributing groups, agencies play to their strengths, organisational leads
have appropriate resources and approvals to contribute as well as the ability to put aside
organisational rivalries to achieve a mission or outcome. Essentially, having the right people with
approval to use resources in the room to make progress and get things done.
Conversely, there is nothing worse than a poorly coordinated inter-agency operation.  This is a
situation where agencies do their own thing without regard for the desired end state, relevant
information is not shared with partner agencies, egos undermine mutual trust and confidence and a
sense of ‘form over substance’ is prevalent at inter-agency meetings.
Trust, confidence and credibility are important components in creating a positive culture for an
interagency team.  This is underpinned by a clarity of purpose including understanding who is the
lead agency is, and how do we best support them.  Sometimes there is a requirement to
constructively support and educate the lead agency about what the intel igence function/community
can do to help them to solve or mitigate their problem.
One of the best examples of inter-agency collaboration I can recall relates to a six year long hostage
case involving a New Zealand citizen held captive in the Middle East.  This was one of the most
complex intelligence chal enges I have encountered in my career.  The complexity of this MFAT led
task, essentially to positively identify the hostage and their location in order for plan and prepare

recovery options, meant that a number of New Zealand agencies needed to coordinate and focus
the intel igence effort to support both strategic and operational understanding and decision making.
After a period of ‘storming and norming’ agencies supported MFAT in a manner that allowed the
sum of all the intelligence parts to be fused together to create a multi-agency agreed upon
assessment of the current situation and to inform decisions about creating operational options.
Each of the supporting intelligence agencies met on a regular basis, communicated in a free and
frank manner and acted in way that enhanced mutual trust and confidence in order to create
credible intelligence products. Regular communication and coordination around agreeing on
priorities to support the lead agency activity was also a hallmark of this inter-agency group.
I would like to acknowledge a number of people in this room worked with on this case.  Your efforts
created a standard of what very good looks like.  Your collaborative efforts also created functional
processes that have been applied to subsequent complex inter-agency issues as well as forging
functional cross agency networks that remain alive and well today. I am proud to have worked with
you and be part of a team that worked on this complex case.
In another previous role at Defence it was my responsibility to draft orders and gain the approvals to
undertake sensitive intelligence col ection operations in an inter-agencies context. Many of these
requests meant that Defence was carrying most of the risk involved.  This situation meant that
Defence had to confirm the lawful basis to undertake the task, confirm if we had an appropriate
capability to do the job and highlight the risks, consequences and mitigations if we supported the
inter-agency request.  Essentially, is it lawful, can we do it and should we do it. It was my role to
walk the documentation through to the Chief of Defence Force to seek their approval for the activity
to occur. If it was lawful and we had an appropriate capability, the conversation centred on the risks
and confirming that the potential intelligence gained was worth the effort. A significant factor of
this discussion with a Chief Executive equivalent was considering ‘what is the best for New

Zealand?’.  It is this mindset of ‘what is the best for New Zealand’ that helps provide clarity around
how we should act in support of collaborative efforts across the intelligence and security sectors.
Conclusion
I will conclude this brief lecture by highlighting the importance of educating both the public and our
decision makers about the intelligence function.  Essentially reducing people’s misconceptions of
intelligence.  This intel igence understanding includes the ongoing requirement to impart knowledge
about what we do, why we do it, the legal safeguards in place as well as the ethical standards we
hold ourselves accountable to.  We have highlighted how trust is hard earned and easily lost.   Trust
is also underpinned by being both humble and approachable. This al ows people and col eagues to
reach out for assistance as well as to understand what we do.  This material y helps us to do our job;
sometimes these people bring us the missing piece of the intelligence puzzle.  Public and
organisational confidence in the intelligence function is heavily shaped by perceptions of the
lawfulness and proportionality of our work, including how we safeguard the people we serve and the
information we protect.  I also have touched upon credibility.  This credibility factor was described in
the context of our work being continual y judged and its important linkage to ethical imperatives,
and not being pressurised to conform to convenient narratives.  The qualities of trust, confidence
and credibility also form a solid bedrock upon which multiple agencies collaborate together as a
system to do ‘the best for New Zealand’.
Thank you for your attention and I hope some of the ideas I have conveyed resonate with you.
Happy to field questions.
Kia Ora.

Trust, Confidence and
Credibility - some important
traits for an Intelligence
Professional
NZIIP Fel ows Lecture 2024 – John O’Reilly, MNZM

Introduction
Trust - Confidence - Credibility
Demystifying Intelligence
Being a professional and being professional
The ‘inter-agency effect’

Trust
Trust can be defined as ‘a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or
ability of someone or something
‘Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets’
- Kevin Plank - Businessman
Trust is underpinned by being dependable, honest, humble,
being approachable and authentic as well as having an ability
to listen, to be respectful and not to betray or belittle
information given to us confidentially.

NZIIP Code of Ethics
‘The public place a high degree of trust in
the professionals who work in this sector,
expecting their activities to be lawful and
to contribute to public safety and
wellbeing. There is an expectation that
intelligence activities will be conducted
only when necessary, with effective use of
resources, respect for privacy,
proportionality, and accountability for
mistakes and failures.’

Confidence
Public and organisational confidence can be defined as ‘the
feeling or belief that the public, or an organisation, can have
faith in, or rely on someone or something’
The belief that the intelligence function will undertake their
role within the bounds of the law, appropriate direction and
the resources available.
The public or your organisation need to broadly understand
what the intelligence function does.

Credibility
Credibility can be defined variously as: being capable of being
believed, worthy of confidence, reliable and worthy of other
people's trust.
‘Every action or perceived inaction shapes credibility’
Dr Mindy Hal - Organisational teams’ academic
‘… the important thing is to do the right thing. Then credibility
will follow’
Dr Henry Kissinger - US Secretary of State (ex Counter Intel igence Sgt US Army)

Inter-agency Col aboration
Trust, confidence, and credibility also are important factors
that support functional inter-agency operations and
activity; essentially supporting a systemic approach to
intelligence collaboration.
Trust, confidence and credibility are important components
in creating a positive culture for an interagency team.
‘What is the best for New Zealand?’

Conclusion
Demystifying and educating both the public and our decision
makers about the intelligence function is important
This education is an ongoing responsibility
The qualities of trust, confidence and credibility form the
bedrock for inter-agency collaboration

Questions?
NZIIP Fel ows Lecture 2024 – John O’Reilly, MNZM

Trust, Confidence and
Credibility - some important
traits for an Intelligence
Professional
NZIIP Fel ows Lecture 2024 – John O’Reilly, MNZM