NZ Spies - S.I.S Target Pro-White Dissidents

[Ryan-NZ]

Spy agency's shift to far-right white nationalist threat - but SIS won't say how far balance has swung

Derek Cheng | New Zealand Herald | 24 March 2021

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/spy-agencys-shift-to-far-right-white-nationalist-threat-but-sis-wont-say-how-far-balance-has-swung/7QETCV6ESLW7DSSCH5RV47VJPI

Half of the New Zealand's domestic counter-terrorism efforts are directed at white nationalist threats while the other half is directed towards faith-based threats.

The shift by the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) follows the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the March 15 shootings, which found that the SIS had been too focused on Islamic extremism - despite pleas from the Muslim community about hate crimes against them.

SIS director-general Rebecca Kitteridge and acting director-general of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) Bridget White appeared before Parliament's intelligence and security committee this morning.

"Our counter-terrorism effort is split approximately 50/50 across white identity motivated violent extremism and faith-motivated violent extremism," Kitteridge told the committee.

After the hearing, she wouldn't say how much the SIS's counter-terrorism efforts had shifted towards white identity threats, nor would she say whether there were any such threats on the terrorism watchlist.

They had previously been completely absent from the watchlist.

Kitteridge also wouldn't be drawn on whether the SIS would have caught an alleged threat on the Christchurch mosques earlier this month without a tip-off by members of the public, who alerted authorities after seeing messages on 4Chan.

The events raised questions about whether the SIS was monitoring 4Chan, which is commonly used by white supremacists.

"NZSIS is not always visible. Where we are and where we are not, I can't talk about that," Kitteridge said.

"Everybody has a role to play in national security. Just as we don't expect police to stand on every corner and prevent every crime, we and the police stand together and say to the public: 'If you see something of concern, you should say something.'"