Mystery surrounds Waihopai base

Press, 13 April 1989, Page 3

Mystery surrounds Waihopai base

PA Wellington Much mystery surrounded the Waihopai satellite station yesterday, in spite of members of Parliament’s best efforts to uncover its cost and capabilities. The domestic and external security co-ordina-tor, Mr Gerald Hensley, told the the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee that the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, had directed him not to discuss the base’s operational methods. Responding to a question from the member of Parliament for Sydenham, Mr Jim Anderton (Lab.), a member of the committee, he cited a "longstanding preogative of the Crown” as a reason for not releasing specific details or costs and said the Crown had authority to keep its own secrets

where appropriate. Waihopai’s purpose was to gather “foreign information” and it was not contravening either international or New Zealand laws. Mr Hensley emphasised that the base would not have the capabilities to listen into domestic telephone calls but he would not comment on private international telephone calls or facsimiles. The member of Parliament for Hamilton West, Mr Trevor Mallard (Lab.), asked whether equipment to decode foreign military messages would be used, but Mr Hensley said this issue was “outside my ability” to discuss. But peace groups were wrong to claim there would be up to four satellite dishes; only one dish would be used.

Construction of the buildings was almost completed and equipment installation would begin later this year. On July 1, estimated costs for the Government’s Communication and Security Bureau for 1989/90, which will run Waihopai, would be released in a one-line vote. It would cover total expenditure on security and intelligence service. In a submission by the anti-bases campaign to the committee, Messrs Owen Wilkes and Fergus Wheeler said New Zealanders were entitled to full democratic participation in government. They wanted to know what information was being gathered and how much would be passed to the United States or Australia.