Former Police Minister Annette King says that she and her cabinet colleagues were not informed about Operation 8 until the night before the dawn raids. She says this after stating that the Solicitor General advised the Police at the time to charge those arrested under the Terrorism Suppression Act, only to change his mind after the raids were completed.
Annette King expects us to believe that she, as Police Minister, had no clue about a police operation that was going to invoke the TSA for the first time, not against foreign terrorists but against a collection of well-known domestic dissidents with long histories with the Police. She expects us to believe that Helen Clark, the micromanaging, all-knowing Prime Minister and Minister for Intelligence and Security, had no clue about Operation 8 even though the TSA was used to justify the electronic surveillance of the suspects a year before the raids, that SIS assets were used to that end, and that the raids would be carried out on Tuhoe land as well as in cities (a delicate political issue, to say the least). She expects us to believe that Phil Goff, the Defense Minister, was clueless about the operation even though, as the foremost counter-terrorism unit in the country, the NZSAS could be called into action should the situation warrant (which would require some advance notice). She expects us to believe that the Combined Threat Assessment Group (CTAG) was not involved in the build up to the raids, or if it was, that this inter-agency task force did not inform any senior government minister until the night before the doors were kicked down. She wants us to believe that then-Police Commissioner Howard Broad, well known for his ties to the the Prime Minister, did not utter a word about who was targeted and why until less than 12 hours before the cops rolled.
She would like us to believe that with the possible exception of the PM, no one in the 5th Labour government was aware of Operation 8 until October 14, 2007. This, even though multiple agencies were involved and the lead-up  to the raids was over a year in the making.
Yeah Right.
Not disagreeing with you about King, but I recall that many politicians seemed quite bemused when the news of the raids came out. No one quite knew what to say.
It is also worthy of note that Ms king’s recollection of the meeting in the PM’s office had one significant failing that she slid around and her interviewer did not pursue. That was the identity of the “one other” person in the room.
The mind immediately swings to H2 but it might well have been the Head of SIS or a political advisor of some kind.
I wonder if anyone kept a record of the discussion against which Ms King’s recollection could be measured.
I have heard before it said “Police Commissioner Howard Broad, well known for his ties to the the Prime Minister” – What are these links? Is there any material out there to potentially support this?
@David: Plenty of references for it on right wing blog sites. I’m not sure whether Pablo considers those authoritative though.
Terrorist! lol. I am just speechless. I can only think of two words when I am thinking about this, – Babylon and greed. Also I mite add, who accuses “Greenpeace” of terrorism? There is obviously a hidden agenda going on for the government and the police who I like to refer to as “The MAFIA”, and one day soon, the truth will reveal its ugly head. …..What about the children in the Tuhoe raids that were terrorized by white masked men with automatic weapons pointed at their faces, …are they to be done for terrorism also? ….I certainly don’t think they will charge anyone under the crown with such absurd charges! ty for letting me share :) have a nice day …. EVERYONE
“There is obviously a hidden agenda going on for the government and the police who I like to refer to as “The MAFIA—
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/200/420/BRTky.jpg?1321408042
@Hugh
I have seen what is on the “right wing blog sites” regarding such supposed connections or “closeness†between Howard Broad and Helen Clark – it doesn’t really tell much and is not at all convincing.
I would really like to know the information Pablo has. It would great if it was made public because the information in the public domain isn’t at all persuasive. There’s a total absence of information… at least to what I have seen.
Can you help Pablo?