DO NOT GIVE THE STATE THESE POWERS!

State agency spy powers 'chilling'
The Human Rights Commission yesterday warned Parliament of the "chilling" implications of a proposed law that would see the intrusive powers usually only available to the police extended to all agencies with enforcement responsibilities.

It said that under the law, council dog control officers would be able to enter homes to install a surveillance device and the Commerce Commission would be able to detain people.

Inland Revenue would get the powers to assist its tax investigations, while the Meat Board would get them to enforce breaches of export rules.
The Human Rights Commission chief commissioner, Rosslyn Noonan, said the Search Surveillance Bill was giving the powers away to a "grab-bag of every possible agency".

It is the second major public watchdog to issue a warning about the bill after the Privacy Commissioner last week said it needed more safeguards.
Ms Noonan said the Government needed to justify to the public why it was giving the powers to each agency.

She said while the police were largely respected by the public, and subject to scrutiny and constraints, "most of these other agencies the community as a whole would notknow who they are - and suddenly they are all getting these powers".

Ms Noonan told the justice and electoral select committee search and surveillance were among the state's most coercive powers and open to abuse if sufficient human rights safeguards are not put in place.
The New Zealand Law Society also objected to the expansion of the powers, citing how the Overseas Investment Office or the Environmental Risk Management Authority could "remotely and covertly access an IT network".

Brothers, Sisters – mates. Whatever part of the political spectrum any of us come from, surely we can all see the vast dangers to our democracy in allowing not only the Police, but the entire bloody state these vast new surveillance powers that they want. We’ve been tracking the Police wish list on Tumeke since the Police introduced their plans and to watch it snowball to as far and wide as the Pork industry and Meat board isn’t just chilling, it’s unnerving.

We should not allow the Police the power to break into your home and spy on you without a warrant, and we sure as hell shouldn’t give that power to the bloody Meat Industry!

Come on NZ, I know John Key is charming and optimistic and aspirational, but you can see can’t you that these new surveillance powers are powers the state should not be allowed to have over us right? Don’t let National and ACT ram this through in the way they’ve rammed through letting the Police take your DNA to build a DNA data bank on a mere arrest.

Come on NZ, you all voted for change away from what you perceived as ‘nanny state’ under Labour how the hell can you as National voters be happy with massive expansion of state powers to the point the bloody Pork & Meat Industry can break into your home and bug your conversations?

NZ, seriously - don’t let them do this, it is fundamentally detrimental to our freedom as citizens in this country to allow the state these types of surveillance powers.