Keith Locke

The transformation of the External Assessments Bureau into the National Assessments Bureau should not have occurred without proper consultation, said Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Keith Locke.

It has just been revealed that the Government has shifted the attention of the External Assessments Bureau onto domestic issues due, in part, to the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

"It is treating Parliament and the public with contempt not to engage in consultation before transforming the External Assessments Bureau," said Mr Locke.

"The External Assessments Bureau has been dedicated to foreign country assessments, and now the Government is transforming it into into a domestic spy agency.

"There has been no demonstration of why the two existing intelligence agencies concerned with domestic intelligence, the Police and the Security Intelligence Service are not covering the field adequately.

"Presumably the goal is to beef up domestic security, but the new NAB might just confuse the picture as it tries to take over some of the tasks now performed by Police intelligence or the SIS.

"We are regularly told times are tough and all Government agencies must tighten their belts," said Mr Locke.

"It is a bit sad where the only growth area in the public service is in the spy agencies, who are quite unaccountable to the general public."