Secret Service May Be Formed In New Zealand

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 December 1950, Page 4

Secret Service May Be Formed In New Zealand

WELLINGTON, This Day (0.C.).— With the danger of war looming there is a growing feeling in some official circles and outside tnat New Zealand will have to adopt some means of checking upon the activities oL the Communist Party in this country. . Concern is aroused not so much by the activities of the known members of the Communist Party—m the main industrial agitators—but by the suspicion that there may be other agents of that party in positions of trust. , The Government is known to be worried about the possible harm such individuals could do in the event of an outbreak of war, especially if the enemy country or countries accepted the Communist faith. The main trouble is that there is no security organisation in existence in this country outside the police force, though it is generally agreed that what is needed is something in the nature of a counter-espionage Such a group would operate quietly, gathering evidence, even permitting Communist agents to continue their work in the hope that eventually the whole network of, their activity might be disclosed. It would then be the task of the police to carry out the arrests and to prosecute on the evidence of the dossiers presented to them by the counterespionage agency. \ It is understood that the Government has given, or is giving, some consideration to the establishment of such an organisation. They exist in other Commonwealth countries and have shown results. It was because the Government realised that to drive the Communist Party comnietely underground would be a foolish step, that it recently dropped the anti-Commumst legislation which it had prepared for introduction during the session of Parliament which has just closed. An aspect of the problem which nas received no publicity is the danger that is associated with the bringing into New Zealand of thousands of displaced persons from' Europe; An obvious subterfuge which the Communist Party would adopt would be to infiltrate host countries by placing Communist stooges and agents in DP camps. . The International Refugee Organisation certainly conducts an investigation of alt DP’S, but this work is carried out largely by intelligence officers of the British and American armies.