John Howard: New Zealand Initiative Senior Fellow on the NZSIS report looking at rising threats to national security

A retired Major General says New Zealanders need to be aware the threat of terrorism is real. 

A Security Intelligence Service report shows the national terrorism threat level remains at Possible, with the most likely scenario caused by a lone actor. 

It says violent extremism is being influenced by a broad range of ideologies, a mix of domestic and international events, and extremist online rhetoric.

New Zealand Initiative Senior Fellow and Retired Major General John Howard told Ryan Bridge if you see something that concerns you, discuss it with someone.

He says it's not a cause for panic, but a cause for community for us to be aware of our neighbours and help them.

New technology is said to be accelerating the national security challenges we face – the report suggesting our connections, innovations, and position, make us valuable to foreign powers.

It suggests Chinese military intelligence has been using professional networking and job sites to target current and former government officials holding secrets.

Howard told Bridge to be forewarned is to be forearmed, and drones and AI can be used with criminal or lethal intent against civilians.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The sas the spies. They release an annual Threat Environment report.
So what are we worried about? Is that AIS supercomputers
coming after our infrastructure or the most likely scenario, a
lone wolf radicalized on the Internet. John G. Howard, retired
Major General, New Zealand Initiative Senior fellow with me this morning, John,
Good morning, Good.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Morning, Ron. How are you very well?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Thank you? So is a lone wolf? Do we know
what they might be thinking or where they might come from?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
No, you will never know what a lone wolf is thinking.
The point that the Director General of the Essays is
making is that risk is still present in our society
as it is in Western Europe and in America.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
And how do you if they're a lone wolf by definition?
As you can't have said, you don't really know who
they are or where they are, So how do you
stop them?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
It's a really good question. So the first thing, as
they've laid out in their report, is that we've just
got to be aware that this risk is real. The
ability to stop than if you see something, say something.
That's the classic international security and national security mantra. And
none of us should be worried or concerned. We shouldn't
change the way we approach our daily business. We just

(01:12):
need to be aware of what's going on around us,
and when something is of concern, then raise the issue.
And this was clear to the nation and should be
since our national security strategy came out three years ago.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
John, When you say that, you know, you know, whenever
there's some sort of terror attack overseas and they're going
in to be other neighbors and neighbors go, oh, yeah,
they were a bit weird. They kept to them, you know,
they kept to themselves. I didn't talk to them much.
Should we go and just ring an one hundred number
about all of our weird, quiet neighbors, you know?

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Look, so New Zealand is a really open, friendly society
and we live in a relatively calm society, which is
ranked You see this with the international relations. But the
concept here is if you see something that really concerns
you discuss it with someone first. Whether it's with the
people in your home, your way, afano, or your community.

(02:04):
There'll be someone there that you should start with, even
if it's local law enforcement. But if you're really concerned,
there are numbers to ring. And look, you know, I
lived in the US for many years where this threat
was a lot more real, and in Western Europe, and
that these things are becoming more real for everybody every day.
So it's not a cause for panic. It's a call
to community in my mind, for us to be able

(02:25):
to be aware of our neighbors and help our neighbors
because someone else in the neighborhood may see something that
you don't as well.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
What about threat prevention? Have we got enough going on there?

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh? Look, so the threat, as the report that came
out overnight has clearly said, has accelerated and it has changed.
It's what I call velocity and vector, so dual use technologies,
and by that I mean something that might be for
good artificial intelligence or small first person drones. These things

(02:56):
can be put with the criminal intents or with leaf
intent against citizens, and we need to be quite aware
of it. And then the ability to stop it means,
as we used to say, to be forewarned is to
be forearmed. So you know, I'd always say more funding
and resources to the National Security architecture and to the
SAS and GCSB and police. Of course that's a decision

(03:19):
for the cabinet table, but for all of us, be aware,
be advised, and when you've got to concern, just scout
and ask someone about it.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
John gre Howard, retired Major General in New Zealand Initiative
Senior Feller. Always good to have you on the program.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
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