December 03, 2014
Muslim and Maori share threat to civil liberties
Greens co-leader Metiria Turei says New Zealand’s Muslim community may need to talk to Maori about a joint response the new anti-terror legislation being rushed through parliament.
The bill is set to pass after Labour secured some changes at the select committee, including cutting the time the Security Intelligence Service can conduct surveillance without a warrant to 24 hours, and requiring the spy agency to report every six months rather than yearly.
But Ms Turei says the Greens won’t support the bill, which is supposed to stop New Zealanders joining the Islamic State group fighting in Iraq.
She agrees with Tuhoe activist Tame Iti that it’s Maori who seem to be targeted first when such laws are passed.
"The Muslim community and the Maori community, if people know each other the leadership should probably have a conversation about what this means to them because the Musilm community are now targeted as Maori are, and it's really bad news for them and indeed for the rest of us. We don't want to live in a surveilance state, we don't want to be like America, people's civil liberties are previous here and need to be protected," she says.
Ms Turei says New Zealanders should not lose their civil liberties just because Prime Minister John Key wants to be part of the war in the Middle East.
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