Actually it is a rather clear opposition to it, one wonders though where the National party leader and spokesperson stand.

The problem with this sort of thing, is precedent of past police (and other) abuse of the privileged access, thus concern about the other 1% – which means when people abuse due process they harm the trust they need to do their job.

“What have we go to hide” (right wing cynicism about civil liberties liberals) vs “why should we be obliged to do things for the establishment/government/police or why should they have to do things for the establishment/government/police convenience”.

Many phone calls are processed digitally these days, so arguably they reside (if only for a short period of time) in a computer’s storage. The government could just as easily and logically legislate to require these to be kept and discoverable indefinitely. Would that make any more sense?

Computers of course have a record of activity that can be noted in various ways. Use can even be minitored from another location (emails are surveillanced by Echelon, but not easily accessible for local crime purposes).

Note this fact.

Only legally acquired evidence is of use in a court case. But fishing to gather information occurs routinely and sometimes becomes the basis for secret informer testimony enabling a later subsequent warrant. So those wondering about hacking of record bases have a point.

Comparing the intrusion into the cyber world with that of former communications is of course valid, but one wonders how much ones mail is intercepted before receipt anyhow. I once was informed (by a Wellington police officer) that all mail sent to an embassy would be intercepted before they received it.

1984, anybody?

Re: police powers – they can’t even keep tabs on a couple of Glocks.

“This smacks of NZ falling in line the US and the UK, two countries heavily wiretapping their citizens. I cant help but see that ALL our personal messages and conversations are being recorded for the “authorities” for future, what “dissent”. This is no conspiracy and Bushco has been hard over the last 7 years to implement complete tracking of every bit of information possible. Even new bills enable “thought crimes” under the new terror acts. So called “thinking” of terror is now punishable with up to life in prison.”

OH, YEAH?

And since when has the Bushitler used the theft of private communications of his political opponents to smear them? Come on? Have any parallels to what happened to Don Brash right here in NZ, happened to Al Gore? Or John Kerry? Or Hillary Clinton?

And what has happened to the Don Brash complaint to the NZ Plods? “Move along, nothing to see here………….”

What do you think the Clarkists COULDN’T do with a great pool of Text messages to pick over? Where would they start? Suspected drug dealers? Yeah right. Think John Key, Murray McCully, David Farrar, John Boscawen…………

The well was poisoned long ago. The genie is out of the bottle. Trying to restore the precious liberties that were so casually surrendered when NZ turned to collectivism will be a long and bitter struggle.

This latest idea is further evidence of absolute law enforcement laziness.

And oh dear oh dear previously we could reply of Annette King’s common sense to knock this sort of nonsense on the head. But she seems to have lost all common sense since she proposed a law of common sense in electoral matters.