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Lange's secrets

Among the personal papers bequeathed to the nation by former Prime Minister David Lange is a numbered copy of a top secret report from the organisation that runs the 'spy domes' at Waihopai and Tangimoana. It provides an unprecedented insight into how espionage was conducted 20 years ago.

The top-secret intelligence report found among David Lange's papers shows New Zealand had been spying on friendly countries throughout the region.

Targets included Japanese and Philippines diplomatic cables and the government communications of Fiji, the Solomons, Tonga and "international organisations operating in the Pacific".

The Government Communications Security Bureau's 1985/86 annual report also reveals that one of New Zealand's main targets was "UN diplomatic" cables, but which agencies of the United Nations were targeted is not stated.

The GCSB is New Zealand's largest and least-known intelligence agency, specialising in electronic eavesdropping on other countries' communications as part of an American-led global intelligence network.

The 1986 spying operations were done at the GCSB listening station at Tangimoana, near Palmerston North.

The report detailing these operations is stamped with the codeword "Umbra", the modern equivalent of the World War II "Ultra" codeword, applied to high level intercepted German communications.

The report shows that GCSB operations in the year after the ANZUS crisis were still closely integrated with its intelligence allies.

Much of the GCSB's work involved translating and analysing communications intercepted by other agencies, "most of the raw traffic used ... (coming) from GCHQ/NSA sources", the British and US signals intelligence agencies.

Its report says "reporting on items of intelligence derived from South Pacific telex messages on satellite communications links was accelerated during the year.

"A total of 171 reports were published, covering the Solomons, Fiji, Tonga and international organisations operating in the Pacific. The raw traffic for this reporting provided by NSA the US National Security Agency)."

The GCSB also produced 238 intelligence reports on Japanese diplomatic cables, using "raw traffic from GCHQ/NSA sources". This was down from the previous year: "The Japanese government implementation of a new high grade cypher system seriously reduced the bureau's output." For French government communications, the GCSB "relied heavily on (British) GCHQ acquisition and forwarding of French Pacific satellite intercept".

The report lists the Tangimoana station's targets in 1985-86 as "French South Pacific civil, naval and military; French Antarctic civil; Vietnamese diplomatic; North Korean diplomatic; Egyptian diplomatic; Soviet merchant and scientific research shipping; Soviet Antarctic civil. Soviet fisheries; Argentine naval; Non-Soviet Antarctic civil; East German diplomatic; Japanese diplomatic; Philippine diplomatic; South African Armed Forces; Laotian diplomatic (and) UN diplomatic."

The station intercepted 165,174 messages from these targets, "an increase of approximately 37,000 on the 84/85 figure. Reporting on the Soviet target increased by 20% on the previous year".

After the Rainbow Warrior bombing - which the GCSB report calls the "Rainbow Warrior incident" - "a special collection and reporting effort was mounted against French vessels in the NZ area, particularly the yacht Ouvea (on which some of the French agents escaped from New Zealand). NSA and GCHQ were also requested to monitor certain Paris telephone addresses. Coverage of the Ouvea produced some valuable intercept."

The report also mentions New Zealand involvement in spying on Indian and Polish activity in Antarctica and Chinese and other government traffic derived chiefly from GCHQ/NSA satellite intercepts.

Each page of the 31-page report that mentioned eavesdropping operations was headed "TOP SECRET UMBRA HANDLE VIA COMINT CHANNELS ONLY". COMINT stands for "communications intelligence".