Parliament narrowly passed the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) bill on Wednesday, which some say expands the agency’s ability to spy on New Zealanders, reports The New Zealand Herald. Prime Minister John Key assured, however, that claims the bill allows “for wholesale collection of metadata without a warrant,” are not true, adding that, under GCSB, metadata will be treated the same as content. Labour leader David Shearer was less optimistic, saying New Zealand has lost an opportunity to be a world leader in “charting a path through these dilemmas…” Key maintains the law "isn't a revolution in the way New Zealand conducts its intelligence operations…It simply makes clear what the GCSB may and may not do."
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