The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security’s annual report has today been released and is again indicative of the robust oversight that sits over the NZSIS and GCSB.
NZSIS Director-General Andrew Hampton said the annual report provides ongoing transparency and public confidence into the important work of the NZSIS’s mission in maintaining national security.
Among the topics covered by the IGIS Annual Report is the use of class warrants by the NZSIS.
Under the Intelligence and Security Act 2017, class warrants enable the NZSIS to conduct intelligence activities against a defined group of people, rather than an individual.
“As the IGIS acknowledges, class warrants are available for the Service to use under legislation, and based on advice received externally and internally, I am assured our use of class warrants is compliant with the Act.”
The Act provides for both class warrants and warrants specific to an individual. In either case the Minister and Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants must be satisfied that the warrant is necessary and proportionate, to contribute to the protection of New Zealand’s national security, before it can be issued.
The particular case examined by the Inspector-General related to a very small number of individuals within a defined class, and who were targeted over concerns around terrorist attack planning.
“It would be irresponsible of me, given the increasingly complex and dynamic threat environment that New Zealand faces, not to seek to use the full range of legislative tools available to the NZSIS,” Andrew Hampton said.
“While we have continued to seek class warrants, we are mindful of the Inspector-General’s observations and have made several changes to documentation when seeking a warrant.”
“In issuing the most recent class warrants, the previous Minister and Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants were cognisant of the Inspector-General’s views as outlined in his annual report.
As the Inspector-General has noted, the issue of class warrants was examined by the statutory review of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017, which acknowledged the importance of class warrants, especially in the context of threat discovery activities and when dealing with groups, such as terrorist groups.
The review recommended changes to legislation around class warrant applications (Recommendation 10(external link)), which is subject to policy consideration.
With regards to the Inspector-General’s assessment of compliance systems, the NZSIS is pleased to be rated ‘well-developed’ in four of the five assessment categories (internal compliance programmes, self-reporting and investigation of compliance incidents, training, and responsiveness to oversight).
Under the operational policy and procedure category, the NZSIS was rated under-developed. The NZSIS is in the process of overhauling and updating its policy framework after an evaluation project in 2020.
“As the incoming Director-General, ensuring all policy procedures are up to date is a priority, with a governance group and agreed strategy in place to achieve this over the next 18 months,” Andrew Hampton said.
Work in this area has accelerated, following the significant COVID-19-related and building disruptions of the past couple of years.