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New Zealand's spy agencies are the most secretive arm of the
government, but plans for their future were laid bare when a
notebook was left on the street by a civil servant.
Tucked away in quiet part of central Wellington are the state's
secretive spy agencies, including the Security Intelligence Service
(SIS) and the Government Communications Security Bureau which runs
the spy base at Waihopai.
Government plans to potentially merge the intelligence agencies together are not so secret now, thanks to the contents of a notebook left in the street.
Prime Minister John Key says he thinks it is regrettable "but
people do make mistakes".
The mistake was made by a Treasury official after she made notes
from a meeting about the future of the country's intelligence
agencies.
Treasury Secretary John Whitehead has outlined what happened with the notebook.
"I gather it was dropped, discovered very quickly, steps were retraced, but it had already been picked up by that time," he says.
It was picked up by Radio New Zealand political reporter Julian
Robins who returned the notebook after filing his scoop.
"It turns out I would know a good story if I tripped over one in
the road I guess," says Robins.
Treasury security rethink
The slip up will force Treasury to rethink security.
Whitehead says it was human error and the person who dropped the notebook is known to be very meticulous and very careful.
The spy agencies come under the direct control of the Prime
Minister, who on this occasion is fairly forgiving.
"I wouldn't want to see the person lose their job. People do make
mistakes. It is unfortunate but not something I would like to see
dire consequences for the person involved," says Key.
The loss of the notebook has brought back memories from the early
1980s when an SIS agent's brief case was found, and inside was a
pie and a Penthouse magazine.
"I haven't seen what is actually in the notebook, but I would have thought the Penthouse was more exciting than the notebook," says Key.
The incident has been embarrassing enough for the head of Treasury to apologise to the Prime Minister.
Review confirmed
Key confirmed a review of the spy agencies is being carried out by former foreign affairs secretary Simon Murdoch.
"It's very high level. He will report back to me, it's too early to tell whether there will be any changes," Key says.
"We are looking at the structure of the three intelligence agencies, whether there's greater synergies and whether they can work together more."
"I haven't even had any advice, in fact the journalist that has the notebook has more information on the outcome of those meetings than I have."
The review is part of the government "running the rule" across a number of areas, Key says.
He would not be drawn on what other reviews may be underway out of the public eye.
Careless, says Labour
Labour leader Phil Goff says the information was not a national security issue.
"So it's not at the top end of seriousness. It is careless, it will be embarrassing to the person who lost it," he told reporters.
"The information could have been of a far more sensitive national nature."
He expects the person will be reprimanded but says it appears to be a case of human error.
Goff says the idea of a merger had not been looked at by the Labour government.
He is on parliament's top secret Intelligence and Security Committee, and while the proposal was news to Goff he expects the committee will have a chance to consider any recommendations.
