NZ’s terror threat level drops to ‘low’
New Zealand’s terrorism threat level has been dropped from ‘‘medium’’ to ‘‘low’’, meaning a terror attack is now deemed ‘‘a realistic possibility’’ instead of ‘‘feasible and could well occur’’.
Security Intelligence Service (SIS) director-general Rebecca Kitteridge announced the change yesterday after an annual review of the threat level by national security agencies.
‘‘While the lowered threat level is a positive sign, the lowering of the threat level does not mean there is no threat,’’ Kitteridge said.
‘‘An attack remains a realistic possibility, and individuals of concern are still being investigated by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service.’’
It was the first change to the terror threat level since April 2019, when the threat risk was raised to medium in the wake of the Christchurch mosque terror attacks the previous month.
Australia similarly lowered its terror threat level earlier this week, from ‘‘probable’’ to ‘‘possible’’.
‘‘There will be no decrease in the effort made by NZSIS to detect and investigate violent extremism,’’ Kitteridge said.
‘‘It is also important to note that the national terrorism threat level does not reflect levels of hate speech or violent rhetoric.’’
She said people should still be ‘‘alert’’ for possible violent extremism, and report suspicious behaviour.
A ‘‘low’’ terror threat is the second-highest in the level system, which spans ‘‘very low’’ to ‘‘extreme’’.
At low, officials have determined that a ‘‘terrorist attack is assessed as a realistic possibility’’. At medium, a terror attack is ‘‘assessed as feasible and could well occur’’.
The country’s terrorism threat level is determined by the Combined Threat Assessment Group (CTAG), a collection of agencies led by the SIS and including the Government Communications Security Bureau, police, the Defence Force, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
According to the SIS statement, the change to the threat levels was due to CTAG having ‘‘not sighted information to indicate New Zealand is currently the target of credible and specific attack plans by violent extremist groups or individuals, either based in New Zealand or offshore’’.
The name of the South Korean woman charged after the remains of two children were found in suitcases will remain suppressed. The woman, 42, appeared before Judge Gus Andre´e Wiltens in the Manukau District Court yesterday, facing two charges of murder. The judge suppressed her name and any identifying details. However, it can be revealed that she was the mother of the children. Strict suppression orders also prevent media from revealing the children’s identities. The woman was remanded without plea in custody, and will next appear in the High Court at Auckland on December 14. She was extradited this week from South Korea, where she had been held since September. The children’s bodies were discovered in August after a family bought abandoned goods from an Auckland storage unit in an online auction. The children were between 5 and 10 years old and had been dead for years, police said.
Three pieces by legendary artist Charles Frederick Goldie sold for more than $2 million at auction in Auckland on Tuesday. ‘‘It was a terrific auction, with the Goldies selling for $2.186 million,’’ International Art Centre Richard Thomson said. Goldie, who died in 1947, is well known for his portraits of Māori elders and Māori culture. The Calm Close of Valour’s Various Day, a portrait of Māori rangatira Wharekauri Tahuna, sold for $925,000. The addition of a buyer’s premium and GST pushed it above $1.1m. Māori Rangatira with Hei-Tiki, signed and completed in 1939, sold for $918,918. A drawing of Sophia Hinerangi, a guide at the Pink and White Terraces, sold for $156,000.
Dr Diana Sarfati will be the chief steward for New Zealand’s health system, permanently taking over the role formerly held by Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Deputy public service commissioner Helene Quilter announced yesterday that Sarfati would permanently hold the role of director-general of health and chief executive Ministry of Health, which she had been filling temporarily. She will be focused on implementing and embedding health system reforms. Sarfati formerly headed Otago University’s public health department and is chief executive of cancercontrol agency Te Aho o Te Kahu.