Press release - May 28, 2007
Greenpeace says it's concerned Solid Energy isn't the only State Owned Enterprise spying on community groups.
It has been revealed that Solid Energy indirectly hired spies to
infiltrate a community group campaigning against it. The company
employed private investigators Thompson and Clark, who in turn paid
students to spy.
Greenpeace says a news report last year showed the same private
investigators were employed by Mighty River Power, another State
Owned Enterprise, which at the time was seeking consent to re-fire
the Marsden B coal-fired power station in Northland.
Greenpeace actively opposed the consent.
Following the news report last year, Greenpeace and several of
its individual campaigners formally requested that Mighty River
Power release all information it had on them, including any
gathered by a private investigator.
Mighty River Power has refused to do so and complaints on this
refusal are currently being considered by the Privacy Commissioner
and the Ombudsman.
"The fact that Thompson and Clark have infiltrated other
community groups is concerning, and raises the question of whether
spying is becoming a regular way of doing business for publicly
owned companies," said Greenpeace Executive Director, Bunny
McDiarmid. "Mighty River Power are refusing to tell us what
information they have on us or how it was gathered.
"It's a very serious attack on democracy for the Government
through its State Owned Enterprises to sanction the infiltration of
a community group. Not only is it a shocking waste of taxpayers
money, but it is also unethical and we would be surprised if the
public would think it acceptable.
"The Government should be taking this matter extremely seriously
and we urge the Minister for State Owned Enterprises to launch an
investigation into the full extent of spying by publicly owned
companies on community groups and stomp out the practice."
In the early 1980's Greenpeace was infiltrated by a French
Government spy, Christine Cabon, which culminated in the bombing of
the Rainbow Warrior in 1985 killing one Greenpeace crew member.
Exp. contact date: 2007-06-28 00:00:00