Revealed: GCSB spied on Groser job rivals
The GCSB spying mission targeting those competing against former Trade Minister Tim Groser for the job of running the World Trade Organisation was personally approved by the minister, a new report has revealed.
The report found the process to be “unusual” and outside the normal method for approving intelligence targets.
Inspector General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn said the mission was dreamed up by the GCSB’s former director Ian Fletcher and put directly to Groser, who approved it then directly received the intelligence harvested from those also bidding for the job.
She said there was nothing illegal about the spying mission because it lined up with the bureau’s job of supporting New Zealand’s “economic well-being”.
The “economic well-being” came from the belief that New Zealand’s national security would be served because Groser would do a better job of running the WTO than others.
But she also found that the way the mission emerged and was approved was outside the GCSB and Government’s normal way of identifying intelligence targets — and that there was patchy record-keeping and poor memories of how it came about.
The Herald broke the news of the spying campaign in 2015 based on documents from the trove of papers taken by whistleblower Edward Snowden from the United States’ National Security Agency.
It resulted in a complaint from Labour leader Andrew Little to Gwyn’s office, saying he couldn’t see how Groser getting a top international job as the neutral arbiter of the WTO fitted with the GCSB’s requirement to protect “national security” and “economic well-being”.
Gwyn’s report found that the idea of spying to support Groser’s bid for the WTO job came from Fletcher, who was appointed to his role by Prime Minister John Key.
The appointment attracted controversy after it emerged the pair went to school together in Christchurch and their mothers were best friends.
Fletcher sought out a meeting with Groser and his staff, Gwyn’s report said.
The meetings took place before Cabinet agreed to nominate Groser for the WTO job on December 5, 2012, and before the Prime Minister announced the decision on December 21.
The spying campaign began in January 2013 and continued until April 26, when it became clear Groser had missed out on the job.