Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / John Battersby: Massey University Senior Fellow on the report from the Security Intelligence Service

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John Battersby: Massey University Senior Fellow on the report from the Security Intelligence Service · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A violent extremist attack in New Zealand is a realistic possibility.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is according to the sas their latest security report says,
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  Speaker 1: We're up against the most challenging national security environment in
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  Speaker 1: recent times. Foreign espinage is happening here, likely happening here
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: without us even knowing, targeting sensitive information and critical infrastructure.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: John Badisby is a Massi University Center of Center for
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  Speaker 1: Defense and Security Studies with me this morning, John, Good morning,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you. Do you find this alarming?
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  Speaker 2: I don't know they find it alarming. I think I've
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  Speaker 2: often been critical of New Zealand has been a little
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  Speaker 2: bit complacent about security issues and that we really do
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: need to face up to the fact that the world
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  Speaker 2: is changing and that there are new things happening out
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  Speaker 2: there and they're not always good. So we do need
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  Speaker 2: to be a lot more aware of the types of
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  Speaker 2: security risks that exist. Now, whether I would say it's alarming,
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: I'm not too sure. I think a number of these
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  Speaker 2: thinking all of these things are listed in this threat assessment,
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: have been sitting for a sitting with us for quite
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: some time.
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  Speaker 1: Now, and there's no I mean, it's the sis. So
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  Speaker 1: the how they're going to tell you all their workings
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  Speaker 1: and exactly what they're thinking is right and where the
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  Speaker 1: threats are and who they are. Is there enough detail
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  Speaker 1: to go off for you to be confident in their assessment.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's enough contextual detail to be to be
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  Speaker 2: confident that, yes, those security risks exist with this type
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  Speaker 2: of report. And as you say, there's just they don't
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  Speaker 2: give a lot of detail. There is a fair bit
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  Speaker 2: of glossy, large, large text in this, so they don't
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  Speaker 2: really provide enough evidence to convince me that it's way
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  Speaker 2: worse than it was last year. But then they know
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  Speaker 2: things we don't, and it's sort of one little advantage
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  Speaker 2: they have. It wouldn't surprise me if things have got
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  Speaker 2: a little bit worse. The geostrategic situation the Pacific is changing.
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  Speaker 2: There's a new contender on the block has been there
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  Speaker 2: for a while. That's going to affect how the Pacific
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  Speaker 2: is Online extremism, I can't see that it's ever going
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  Speaker 2: to reduce year on year. It's just going to be
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  Speaker 2: so more common each year, I think, so. I think
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  Speaker 2: that's probably there. And espionage, that's something we've been a
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  Speaker 2: slip to for a long time. That is happening here,
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  Speaker 2: has been happening here on off I think for some time.
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  Speaker 1: Is that like, do you mean a tax on infrastructure
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  Speaker 1: cyber attacks that kind of thing, or do you mean
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  Speaker 1: physical espionage spies?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I would say both. And the actors that
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  Speaker 2: are doing the cyber attack can be state based or
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  Speaker 2: they can just be malicious actors, right, So that's not
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  Speaker 2: becoming a less of a risk ever. And espionage, you know,
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  Speaker 2: look right back into the Cold War. If there's a
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  Speaker 2: soft option somewhere, there are states contending for influence in
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  Speaker 2: geostrategic spaces, then yes, there will be a degree of
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  Speaker 2: espionage going on here.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: John, appreciate your time this morning, John Badisbury, Massive University
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Center for Defense and Security Studies. For more from Early
• 3:02
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• 3:05
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