Dirty Politics: More emails releasd

Hacker releases more of Slater's conversations

NZ Herald,

20 August, 2014

A new dump from the hacker behind Dirty Politics has revealed social media conversations behind some of the most serious accusations in Nicky Hager's book.

The social media account dropped 100 pages of Facebook conversations between Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater and former local body politician Aaaron Bhatnagar about 2pm.

The Herald is working through the material which so far shows:

• Details of the release of information from the SIS to Slater, using the OIA;

• Slater's claim he was working with "senior Nats" on information accessed on the Labour Party website;

• Slater and Mr Bhatnagar speaking with frustration over the National Party not awarding Queen's honours to those they knew.

The release of information follows the emergence of a person claiming to be the hacker on Monday, who told the Herald exclusively he was setting up an account from which further information would be posted.

This is the third day which was seen information released which appears to have come from the hack attack on Slater's computer.

Each release has raised new questions for the Prime Minister to answer just days out from the official launch of the National Party's campaign launch.

Inspector-General to look into SIS release

The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security will investigate claims the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) declassified information and gave it to a blogger for political purposes.

Radio NZ,

20 August, 2014

Cheryl Gwyn said an investigation was warranted, as there there was sufficient public interest in the matter.

Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics alleges the SIS fast-tracked the release of information to the blogger Cameron Slater so he could attack former Labour leader Phil Goff.

It released documents about a 2011 meeting between SIS director Warren Tucker and Mr Goff to Mr Slater a day after he requested them.

The Inspector-General's investigation was prompted by claims from the Green Party that the SIS declassified the information with the express purpose of its being used in an orchestrated political attack.

Greens co-leader Metiria Turei said the Government had treated the country's democratic processes and checks and balances as barriers to be circumvented in its own interest.

Mr Goff said the investigation was necessary to give the public confidence that the SIS had not been manipulated, and that there were questions that needed to be answered.

"Whether Cameron Slater was tipped off by the National Party to specifically request a document, why the Director-General saw fit to release a document that was normally confidential, and to release it immediately, and why preference was given to Cameron Slater's request ahead of similar requests from the news media," he said.

Prime Minister John Key said the investigation was good news and should bring clarity.

"At the end of the day, we're very confident of the position. The SIS themselves have been running that process quite independently, and they've been commenting that everything was absolutely above board," he said.

"But the really good thing here is that the Inspector-General will be able to have a look and absolutely clarify that for everyone."

The fact there was an investigation did not mean there was some validity to the claims, Mr Key said.

Mr Key also held firm on not firing Justice Minister Judith Collins for her actions, detailed in the book and subsequent emails, which showed she gave the name and private phone numbers of public servant Simon Pleasants to Mr Slater.

Ms Collins was motivated by the belief Mr Pleasants had leaked information in 2009 about Mr English double-dipping on his housing allowance.

Judith Collins.

Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski

Mr Pleasants had not leaked any information but was subject to abuse on Mr Slater's Whale Oil blog and also received death threats.

Mr Key yesterday described Ms Collins' actions as "unwise", and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said her actions were not the way he operated.

But today Mr Key said he did not believe she had breached Cabinet Manual guidelines relating to standards of behaviour and the handling of private information, and said she had already been held to account.

"In the end, as Prime Minister, you have to judge a whole range of issues and some issues that happen with Cabinet ministers are serious, some are less serious."

He denied he was not acting against Ms Collins because she held politically damaging information on him.

Meanwhile, public law specialist Dean Knight said Mr Hager's book had revealed that Official Information Act requests were expedited if they were politically advantageous to the government of the day.

Dean Knight, a senior lecturer at Victoria University's law school, said it was known that requests under the Act were delayed if they did not advantage the government. But it had become clear the opposite also occurred, he said.

"Potentially politically advantageous requests are either encouraged or somehow expedited.

"I think that might be a concern that those watchdogs over the Official Information Act processes, the Ombudsman, might be concerned about."