A lawyer specialising in surveillance and privacy cases says the Prime Minister's latest promise about the Government Communicatons Security Bureau bill is a last minute diversionary tactic that does not fix its flaws.
John Key says the GCSB will have to get an additional warrant to look at communications it collects on cyber security matters, on top of a warrant it gets to obtain the information.
He says he will talk about the issue more in his speech during the third reading of the legislation, as that is what judges use to interpret laws.
However, Auckland barrister Rodney Harrison says Mr Key's promise is not reassuring because information about cyber security is just a small part of the data collected by the GCSB.
Dr Harrison says the bill would not allow the collection of general data about the communications of New Zealand citizens and permanent residents but there is no protection for anyone else, or anyone who communicates with a foreigner.
He says other Western countries are stopping to consider whether their surveillance methods are going too far, but New Zealand is doing the opposite by rushing through the bill.
