The New Zealand government denies conducting any kind of surveillance of its citizens, even though evidence suggests otherwise – as is evident from NSA documents. Edward Snowden took it upon himself to clarify the situation:
“Let me be clear: any statement that mass surveillance is not taking place in New Zealand, or that internet communications are not being intercepted and monitored, or that this is not deliberately and actively instigated by the GCSB, is categorically false. If you live in New Zealand, you are being monitored,” Snowden said in a statement published by The Intercept.
The complainant clearly states that the situation is not as rosy as the New Zealand government presents to its citizens, and in his statement he includes the truth about the surveillance bill that was passed in the country last year, despite major protests.
Snowden's documents show that the NSA was waiting for the new bill to pass, to receive the first "batches" of metadata under the new government powers.
Of course, the data collection went on for much longer. Snowden says that while working for the NSA, he was able to examine the communications of New Zealanders, as part of the XKEYSCORE program.
