Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Security agency takes on domestic focus

Updated at 11:47 am on 19 March 2010

A Government bureau that assesses security risks to New Zealand from overseas has expanded its focus to include domestic matters.

The External Assessments Bureau, housed in the Reserve Bank building in Wellington, has been renamed the National Assessments Bureau.

It has 30 staff and an annual budget of $3.5 million.

According to its website, the name change is part of a number of changes it is undertaking in partnership with other parts of New Zealand's intelligence community.

The agency's mandate is to provide assessments, the website says, which means it seeks to explain events and developments, but does not offer advice on what actions the Government might take.

Green MP Keith Locke says it's unacceptable that a Government bureau that assesses risks to New Zealand from overseas has expanded its focus without informing Parliament or the public first.

Mr Locke says police and the Security Intelligence Service should be able to address domestic security issues, and including the National Assessments Bureau in domestic matters risks duplication.

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