The New Zealand Defence Force has spent millions on controversial spy software produced by secretive Silicon Valley firm Palantir.
After refusing for more than a year to reveal the extent of links to Peter Thiel's big data analysis company, prompting a complaint by the Herald on Sunday to the Ombudsman, the NZDF were forced to disclose annual spending with Palantir averaged $1.2 million.
The figures suggest since contracts were first signed in 2012 the defence force has spent $7.2m with the firm.
What are they spending this money on? They won't say. Its particularly worrying because Palantir specialises in surveillance and profiling, and has been in bed with Cambridge Analytica, the firm used to manipulate the US election and Brexit referendum. But most worrying of all is this bit:
Questions to the NZDF about what they used Palantir data to analyse or assess the data of New Zealand citizens went unanswered.
This question is effectively asking whether NZDF is waging cyberwar against the New Zealand public. The expected response in a democratic state with a civilian controlled military would be an immediate and uncategorical denial. NZDF's refusal to give such a denial is deeply concerning and requires further investigation.