New Zealand's National Party leader and Prime Minister-elect John Key celebrates a landslide victory at the National election party during New Zealand's general election in Auckland September 20, 2014.
New Zealand's National Party leader and Prime Minister-elect John Key celebrates a landslide victory at the National election party during New Zealand's general election in Auckland September 20, 2014. Reuters/Nigel Marple

Almost two-thirds of Kiwis believe New Zealand’s intelligence agencies are working within the law. New Zealanders expressed they have more confidence in the current spy agency than in the past.

A new poll by Herald-DigiPoll also revealed that 28.2 percent do not trust in intelligence agencies. The results of the survey followed the news of illegal spying and publication of documents detailing the country’s surveillance in Pacific nations. About 33 percent of New Zealanders believe spy agencies are operating legally while 30 percent said they have more confidence in agencies now than in the past.

Both the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and the Government Communications Security Bureau have been scrutinised after a series of allegations and revelations. Cheryl Gwyn, the inspector-general of intelligence and security, has announced an inquiry into the spying activities of GCSB. New Zealand Greens party co-leader Metiria Turei said it was unprecedented for a government agency to be reviewed by a watchdog for three times in the last six months.

The ongoing investigation followed a series of articles by the New Zealand Herald and U.S. news site, The Intercept, exposing the GCSB’s surveillance of Pacific nations. The GCSB minister has unintentionally called New Zealand Prime Minister John Key “wild-eyed” while defending an inquiry into the spy agency’s operations.

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson was asked on Morning Report if he agreed to a comment made previously about former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and investigative journalist Nicky Hager who leaked the alleged spying activities. “You always get that type of wild-eyed stuff on the right,” said Finlayson.

He was informed that the comment came from Mr. Key in response to allegations made over New Zealand’s spying on candidates for the WTO job. The prime minister had described the Snowden and Hager as “backward-looking, anti-American, bunch of plonkers,” reports Stuff.

Finlayson was not aware of his gaffe but went on to say that the left-wingers make the “wild apocalyptic comments.” When asked why the GCSB had spied on New Zealand’s rivals for the WTO position, he refused to answer anything about the subject of the inquiry. He remarked that he was “perfectly relaxed” about the investigation.

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