The measures have been passed under the catch-cry of the "war on terror," with government spokespeople hinting that last October’s bombings of nightclubs on the Indonesian island of Bali, in which nearly 200 were killed, might be repeated in New Zealand itself.

In October, parliament passed the Terrorism Suppression Act, making it a criminal offense to take part in, finance, or recruit to an organization designated as "terrorist." The first organization declared to be "terrorist" under this new law was Jemaah Islamiyah, the group alleged to be responsible for the Bali bombings.

In December, parliament undertook the first hearings on the Counter-terrorism Bill creating a new set of "terrorist" crimes and legalizing police use of electronic tracking devices.

The proposed bill also overturns a 1999 court ruling by allowing evidence collected under an interception warrant to be used in court as evidence for another offense. Opposing the bill, Green Party member of parliament Keith Locke said this provision would allow "fishing expeditions" by the police using the specific purpose of the warrant as a cover.

The police have been granted powers to force people--on pain of prosecution and possible imprisonment--to help them access data on computers.

The government has also introduced the Telecommunications (Interception Capability) Bill, which requires telecommunications companies to help the police and spy agencies snoop on e-mails and listen in to mobile phone calls, and an amendment to the Crimes Act to allow police to hack into computers and intercept e-mails.  
 
Restrictions on travel
Following September 11, 2001, the government announced a NZ$30 million funding package to counter "terrorism," spread over three years across the armed forces, police, spy agencies, customs, and immigration.

The impact of this on working people has been felt most immediately in their ability to travel across national borders. Alongside the stepped-up screening of airline passengers and luggage, and increased militarization of airports, details on passengers boarding overseas are now sent in advance of their plane landing to the customs service in New Zealand. This has led to an increase in the number of "suspicious" visitors being questioned on arrival. Computer-linked video cameras to film the faces of passengers and identify "wanted" people from a database are also being tested.

The Immigration Service is developing a system which would instruct airlines to prevent certain passengers boarding aircraft to New Zealand on the basis of information sent about them from the overseas ground terminals.

Passengers claiming asylum have been a special target of the new measures, with the majority now being detained on arrival in a jail or in a "resettlement center."

As part of the heightened scare-mongering about possible "terrorist" threats, one high-profile asylum-seeker from Algeria, Ahmed Zaoui, is being held in a high-security prison. Zaoui is flanked by guards during his court hearings, while would-be visitors to the courtroom sessions are screened on entry.

Meanwhile, the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) spy agency has set up a free "dob in" telephone line, for anyone to call to report "suspicious" individuals or activities.  
 
 
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