MP speaks of own house raid during counter terrorism law change

The Green MP's house was raided during the Urewera raids 14 years ago.

Green MP Teanau Tuiono spoke in Parliament of his experience of having his home raided during the 2007 Urewera raids. 

"When they come for us, they come for us at dawn," Tuiono said on Thursday.

"Sometimes they knock on the door, sometimes they just barge on through."

He reflected on his experience during the last reading of the counter terrorism law change, a move sped up in response to the September supermarket terrorist attack that left eight people injured. 

The law change passed its final hurdle in Parliament on Thursday, with Labour and National voting in support and the Green Party, Te Paati Māori and ACT voting against.

The change had already gone through its first reading in Parliament and been reported back on by the Parliamentary select committee. 

Tuiono said houses all over Aotearoa New Zealand were raided and people arrested on warrants issued under the Terrorism Suppression Act.

He had arrived home from Australia the previous day after "supporting Aboriginal communities against military intervention on their land". 

"They went through all of my stuff, and it turns out that law degree I got from Auckland University turned out to be really, really useful.

"But in the aftermath of that, it had a very chilling effect on my community. It had a very chilling effect right across Aotearoa New Zealand."

Tuiono said the Greens had three concerns - that the legislation may still capture direct action activists and protests, the planning or preparation offence "has been characterised by some experts as thought crime", and the terrorism control order expansion to people convicted in New Zealand.

"The whole premise of this regime was to be about the difficulty in gathering evidence to prosecute foreign fighters returning home."

Te Paati Māori's Rawiri Waititi said the Tūhoe raids had been conducted under the "guise of anti-terror legislation, which goes to show just how dangerous these laws can be and that they can perpetuate the violence they seek to end".

"If this proposed legislation was on the books in 2007, particularly this offence, the State would have had legal power to convict my Tūhoe whanaunga (relatives)."

"Our people know without a shadow of a doubt that this will be used against the surveillance and criminalisation of tangata whenua and minorities, hence why the minor parties stand in solidarity today.

"Shame on this House today for supporting such a fundamental erosion of human rights that we hold dear in Aotearoa," Waititi said. 

Jstice Minister Kris Faafoi said that criticism from ACT and the Green Party that the legislation was "rushed through hastily doesn't necessarily pass muster". 

"This piece of legislation has been progressed out of the recommendations of the royal commission on the mosque attacks in Christchurch in 2019. It also responds to... the nature of terrorism changing."

The new law would amend the Terrorism Suppression Act, the Search and Surveillance Act and the Terrorism Suppression Act with a 'single broad policy to better prevent and respond to terrorism'. 

He addressed the concerns raised "in terms of the seriousness of the crimes, and also the potential for the misuse of this legislation by the authorities, given some of the past experiences of some groups here in New Zealand".

"There are protections within this legislation to ensure that lawful protest will not meet the threshold of a terrorist attack or terrorist intent, if those three pillars are not met, and then there's the added protection of making sure that the police or the Crown has to get approval of the Attorney-General in order for a prosecution for one of these offences to be brought to the inside of a courtroom."

Asked by ACT's Nicole McKee if the changes would have made a difference in the LynnMall terrorist attack, Faafoi said that legislation alone cannot prevent attacks happening.

"But the legislation that we are implementing through the House will give the authorities, the likes of police, more powers to intervene if they find serious evidence of motivation and intent and purpose, and also the bringing together of a number of actions where an individual or a group may be planning to undertake a terrorist attack."


SHARE ME

More Stories