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Tangimoana still on spying front line

Tangimoana is mentioned in the recently released papers of former prime minister David Lange, which show New Zealand spied on friendly countries - including Japan and the Philippines - in 1985 and 1986. At the time, Tangimoana was the country's only spy base, as Waihopai, near Blenheim, had yet to be built.

Mr Locke says while Waihopai, with its satellite-screening technology, has overtaken Tangimoana, the Manawatu facility is still being developed by the Government Communications Security Bureau, which runs the operation.

"Tangimoana is past its heyday, but it's no clapped-out spy base. It's the lesser spy base now, but still a concern to us and still has the ability to pick up long-range shipping and other radio communications."

He says Green Party people have noticed new aerials and "other bits and pieces" have been added.

"Tangimoana's heyday was during the Cold War, when it was used to try to pick up Russian subs in regional waters. Who knows if it did, but it was part of the big cog of espionage."

Mr Locke says it is possible Tangimoana is being used to monitor the fight in the Southern Ocean between Japanese whalers and anti-whaling groups, as the base had been able to monitor Argentinian communications during the Falklands War.

Members of the Greens and Anti-Base campaign group continued opposition to Waihopai with a protest yesterday. They protested at Tangimoana last year, but Mr Locke says he doesn't know if further protests are planned.

Asked if he thought local people cared about the spy base in their midst, Mr Locke says a few locals joined the protest last year.

"They have to have knowledge of it and the Government's continual 'no comment' on the issue makes it hard to get a debate going."

A request to the Defence Department by the Manawatu Standard to be shown round Tangimoana received no response last year.

* New Zealand's spy base at Waihopai is more useful to the United States than troops would have been if they had been sent to Iraq, Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says.

"In New Zealand we have been complacent about our refusal to participate in the invasion of Iraq," she told party members and anti-base demonstrators at Waihopai.

"But the blood is still on our hands . . . too few New Zealanders know about the role played by those two white domes a few miles from here in spying on the law-abiding citizens of many countries and in obtaining the information that makes the war possible."

Ms Fitzsimons was making her annual State of the Planet speech yesterday, using Waihopai as a venue.