Is this a club we want to be part of?
The following is an excerpt from an Op-Ed written in the New Zealand Herald by Privacy International's Legal Officer Anna Crowe:
Since the release of documents by Edward Snowden nearly a year ago, New Zealand has often been seen as a passive participant in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, not unlike a good kid hanging out with the wrong crowd.
However, Snowden documents released last month and the news that New Zealand appears to be sharing intelligence used in drone strikes shows this perception is far from the truth.
The Government is an active participant in this secretive surveillance alliance between the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), our representative, is keyed into US National Security Agency (NSA) programmes that have caused controversy abroad: spying on close allies, mass surveillance of foreign populations and weakening our ability to protect our privacy online.
Sadly, we aren't just following the poor examples of some bullies. We are one of the bad kids.
