Information withheld on A.N.Z.U.S.

Press, 31 May 1985, Page 14

Information withheld on A.N.Z.U.S.

PA Wellington The Chief Ombudsman, Mr Lester Castle, has confirmed a decision to withhold information on an A.N.Z.U.S. agreement, A.N.Z.U.S. Marsar, from the organisation, Peace Researcher. A Peace Researcher spokesman, Mr Keith Burgess, described A.N.Z.U.S. Marsar as a combined Australian, New Zealand and United States operational arrangement for co-opera-tion in maritime surveillance. The Secretary of Defence had ruled that under the Official Information Act (section 6, a and b) the release of information to Peace Researcher on this agreement would likely prejudice the defence security of New Zealand.

Mr Burgess said the A.N.Z.U.S. Marsar agreement was directly associated with the A.N.Z.U.S. defence treaty. The secrecy surrounding it prevented a full public debate on A.N.Z.U.S., its significance and its commitments. He said A.N.Z.U.S. Marsar was described in a 1982 briefing document to the

Government Select Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control.

It is singled out as the only agreement directly associated with A.N.Z.U.S.; and is the second agreement mentioned under the heading, United States-New Zealand Agreements, beneath A.N.Z.U.S. itself and above the Antarctic Treaty. “Obviously it is ranked as a very important agreement, intrinsic to the A.N.Z.U.S. treaty itself,” said Mr Burgess. “Its high ranking is an indication of how important maritime surveillance is to New Zealand’s contribution to A.N.Z.U.S.”

The agreement was not mentioned in the Ministry of Defence annual reports, nor in the Defence Reviews, nor had it been debated in Parliament. Peace Researcher’s disclosure of A.N.Z.U.S. Marsar made “a lie of the Government’s claims that A.N.Z.U.S. has no specific and defined commitments expected of New Zealand, Australia and the United States,” Mr Burgess said.

Peace Researcher is part of the New Zealand Nuclear-free Zone Committee.