Wednesday, 5 June 2024, 5:52 pmArticle: RNZ
The
Supreme Court has declared the then National-led government
broke the law in 2016 when it cancelled a woman’s passport
on national security grounds.The Crown has been
ordered to pay the woman $30,000 to cover her legal costs,
but the court declined to require further payment – saying
if there were issues relating to costs in the lower courts
those courts should resolve them.The ruling decides
an eight-year legal battle shrouded in secrecy, and
overturns previous rulings by the High Court and Court of
Appeal.As acting Internal Affairs Minister in 2016,
Judith Collins suspended the woman’s passport for 10 working
days while the New Zealand SIS spy agency prepared a report
on the danger the woman posed.That report recommended
the woman’s passport be cancelled, saying she was planning
to go to Syria to join the Islamic State terror group,
having been detained in Turkey the previous year on her way
to Syria, allegedly to marry an Islamic State
fighter.The woman then flew to Australia, relying
instead of her passport on a letter from Australia’s entry
operations centre approving her to travel there as she was
waiting for her Australian passport to be
renewed.Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne – after
a half-hour classified briefing based on a 20-page briefing
paper with references to a further 199 pages of SIS
intelligence – then cancelled her passport for 12
months.
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In his evidence to the court, Dunne said the
SIS assessment set out the view the woman would become
further indoctrinated by the Islamic State group if she did
travel to Syria, and would “almost certainly … engage with
individuals who encourage acts of terrorism”.He
believed it likely she would provide practical support if
she married an Islamic State fighter, and contribute
technical knowledge.The Supreme Court has now ruled
that cancellation of the passport was unlawful and
invalid.In its judgment released today, the court
found the minister did not have reasonable grounds to
believe the woman intended to facilitate an act of terror,
and the briefing paper provided to the minister by the SIS
was not fair, accurate, or adequate.The judgement
said Dunne’s reliance on the woman potentially travelling to
Syria to join a terrorist group fell short of the
requirement under the law that the person be an actual
danger to a country, not just a potential one.The
judges also found the law required there be evidence that
the passport holder intended to travel and facilitate in a
terrorist act, and Dunne did not have reasonable grounds to
believe this – a higher standard than just suspecting
it.The woman did not end up going to Syria or
returning to New Zealand, and became eligible for a New
Zealand passport again in late 2017 but has not
applied.Islamic State remains a designated terrorist
entity under the Terrorism Suppression
Act.Director-General Andrew Hampton said the NZSIS
was required to provide advice about national security risks
to support agencies.”We take our obligations to
prevent individuals seeking to travel overseas with the
intention of joining a terrorist organisation very
seriously. Since 2016 the NZSIS has reviewed its processes
associated with the advice it provides regarding passport
cancellation decisions.”He said the SIS would take
time to fully consider the Supreme Court judgment to
identify any further areas where processes could be
improved.
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