The Government Communications Security Bureau headquarters. File image. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The spy watchdog's first look into protected disclosures has found none were to do with "serious wrongdoing".
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Brendan Horsley has put out his annual report of independent oversight of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and the Security Intelligence Service (SIS).
In it, he said disclosures by past and current staff covered conduct that could, on the face of it, have amounted to serious wrongdoing under the Protected Disclosures Act, that covers whistleblowing.
"It was the first instance of my office handling any matter under the protected disclosures.
"I found ultimately that none of the conduct involved would meet the statutory definition of serious wrongdoing."
Instead, mostly the matters involved "strong differences of opinion" about practices and risks, Horsley's report said.
The SIS had engaged positively throughout and the disclosers genuinely sought improvements, he said.
"The protected disclosures regime enabled them to raise issues that deserved to be taken seriously."
One risk for the SIS was in recruitng and managing people as sources of "human intelligence", and the report said this was generally done well.
However, on one of the rare occasions the SIS sought a warrant to provide some immunity for a source who might need to do something unlawful to maintain their cover, it could have spelled out more clearly what offending might occur.
The agency could also improve how it recorded the welfare of these sources, the report said.
Last year a group of lawyers called for an open inquiry into whether the spy agencies were helping Israel's war in Gaza.
The report said an inquiry "stops the clock", and the Inspector-General chose instead to keep on closely monitoring how international partners were sharing intelligence relating to armed conflicts.
"I am satisfied with the information I have from this approach, which has not raised concerns that would prompt an inquiry," he said.
"I have directed much attention at the processes and procedures the agencies rely on to identify and manage the risk of complicity in human rights abuses, and how they obtain authorisations for international cooperation from the Minister."
One of the lawyers who called for an open inquiry, Vinod Bal, said the group was disappointed at Horsley's decision not to hold one.
"Assuring the New Zealand public that the actions of our intelligence agencies have not contributed to the commission of international crimes is of the utmost importance, even more so given reports indicating Five Eyes involvement in illegal Israeli activity such as its attack on Iran," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
An Inspector-General inquiry would discharge New Zealand's obligation to check itself.
"There was and remains an interest in an independent review of intelligence activity [in Gaza] that would have resulted in a public report."
Class warrants also came up again, after Horsley in previous reports voiced concerns about some of these to do with counter-terrorism and violent extremism that had focused on individuals, when they should cover a class of persons.
A class warrant gives the nod to intelligence activities that would otherwise be unlawful.
The SIS was increasingly seeking individual warrants that "set out more clearly and effectively the justifications for the intrusive powers sought", a good thing, the new report said.
It also said policy work was still going on about whether one or both agencies should be allowed to undertake "threat disruption" activities beyond giving warnings
As it stands, the agencies have no function to enforce measures for national security, with narrow exceptions.
The internal workings of both the GSCB and SIS mostly won approval, except that operational policy and procedure was "under-developed" at both.
Eight compliance systems across the two agencies were well developed, and two were under-developed.
The Inspector-General's office spent a fifth less than its $2m budget, as it sought new investigators.
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