New Zealand: Proposed Powers ‘Bordering on Police State’
October 15th, 2009Via: Stuff:
On the second anniversary of controversial police raids, political activists today told MPs a new bill allowing police greater powers to search and monitor could stifle freedom of speech.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff also raised concerns and recommended a raft of beefed-up safeguards to better protect people.
Parliament’s justice and electoral select committee is considering the Search and Surveillance Bill which is based on a 2007 Law Commission report and also brings together police powers which are scattered through numerous statutes.
It gives police and other law enforcement agencies increased powers such as the ability to compel people to answer questions, clone computer information and makes changes to searches and surveillance.
Several activists, arrested by police in the past, referred to the October 15, 2007 controversial police “anti-terror raids” at Ruatoki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and Whakatane, Palmerston North, Auckland and Wellington when appearing before the committee today.
Activist Annemarie Thorby made an impassioned submission to MPs saying the new bill gave police powers to search without warrant any arrested or detained person, or if authorities had concerns about safety or felt their investigation would be compromised.
“They can just go straight in, they don’t need a judge’s permission,” she said.
“It’s a nightmare, it’s bordering on a police state.”
MPs emphasised the bill focused on criminals, but activists were worried it would apply to them.
Years ago when I was pondering the situation the U.S. was in and the signs started to show that things were going to get worse, not better, I wondered if flight out of the country was an option.
At this point in my life I have too many connections to leave, a business and extended family that can’t be left behind (blame the wife for that!) However 7 years ago leaving was an option. I had lived in Canada for 4 years all ready so that seamed to be the natural path to escape. A little research showed unfortunately that Canada or any Western Country would be no better in the long run than the U.S. is. All Western and perhaps all countries are headed down the same path of total control of the population, with the new, revamped police powers to protect the population from the terrorists or criminals. Seams you can always rally the populace around safety security issues.
I feel badly that N.Z. is headed down the same path. I guess at this point we keep our heads low, off the radar as best as possible….or prepare for a civil war of sorts….Unfortunately we know war, even just wars cause way to much collateral damage, do we bring down society to fix it? Can we be trusted as humans to replace the current systems with anything better? I see civil war as a long term possibility, perhaps even inevitable at this point. I fear the change it will bring will be worse not better.
So good luck to Kevin and his family in N.Z. And good luck to mine in the U.S. Perhaps all of us should pool resources and buy an island together, form our own country, our own utopia. Until then stay safe and thank you for this web site to vent a little now and then!
Cheers
the ability to compel people to answer questions
so they can detain people until they provide the answer they want. very effective, i’m sure.
“MPs emphasised the bill focused on criminals”
Seriously, do they even believe that themselves?