'Brain fade' goes all the way to the 9th Floor

John Key’s desperate attempt to shut down criticism of his handling of the Kim Dotcom spying fiasco with a behind-closed-doors review won’t satisfy the New Zealand public, says Labour Leader David Shearer.

“There needs to be a wide-ranging and independent inquiry to reassure New Zealanders that our intelligence agencies are operating within the law – and, just as importantly, those at the top are doing their job by asking the right questions and keeping the nation’s spies in check.

“The Prime Minister’s in-house review is not about getting to the bottom of the obvious failures of oversight from the top.  It’s a scapegoating exercise, designed to find a couple of junior staffers to take the blame.

“Well that’s just not good enough.  The Dotcom debacle has exposed dysfunction and denial from the top down.  Just about every senior figure involved in this affair has developed a worrying case of memory loss.

“John Banks can’t remember anything relating to Kim Dotcom.  The head of the Intelligence Coordination Group Roy Ferguson can’t remember the police raising concerns about the legality of the GCSB’s activities at a meeting in February.

“Bill English can’t remember the Ministerial Certificate he signed to try to supress details of the GCSB’s involvement – either that or even worse he remembered and chose to keep the Prime Minister in the dark.

“And John Key can’t remember anything because no-one seems to tell him anything.  How convenient.

“The review by the Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Kitteridge won’t get answers to the only question that truly matters.  How could it be that New Zealand’s spies got it so wrong for so long without John Key and his senior intelligence officials apparently even noticing?

“This is too important to be swept under the carpet with a secret review.  Last week I wrote to the Prime Minister calling for a proper inquiry covering not just the GCSB, but all our intelligence agencies.  He still hasn’t replied.

“The failings go all the way to the top, and so should the investigation,” says David Shearer.