Look! Terrorists!

The PM has turned up the frightners in his efforts to pass his spy bill, claiming that some kiwis have been trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen. So? The SIS already have the power to intercept the communications of known security threats under warrant, and if they are actually involved in terrorist activity (even merely financing or recruiting), the police do too. But what he's proposing is to allow the GCSB to intercept the phone and internet traffic of every New Zealander, just on the oft-chance that one of us turns out to have done something. Which seems like a bit of an over-reaction to a rather vague (and let's be honest, over-used) threat.

When the government tries to frighten you to try and pass a law, it is a sure sign that there is something wrong with it. We must not pass this bill.