Editor's Note: NZSM April - May 2019

Welcome to the April - May 2019 issue of New Zealand Security Magazine.

On 15 March, New Zealand came face-to-face with an evil it had hitherto only seen from afar. Families, communities and the nation are privately and collectively grieving while trying to make some sense of what happened and what the future now holds.

In this issue of NZSM, providing their thoughts in relation to the Christchurch mosque attacks are Dr John Battersby, Dr Richard Shortt and John Borland specialists in terrorism, national security and intelligence, and counter terror policing respectively. With a post-attack spotlight being shone on aviation security, Philip Wood MBE, Head of the School of Aviation and Security at Buckinghamshire New University, reinforces the role of the human in an otherwise technology-driven area.

The incident has also highlighted the global rise in far-right extremist terrorism, which is a trend Lilly Chapa documents in her review of the latest Global Terrorism Index. Far-right groups and individuals, she writes, accounted for nearly 60 percent of extremist-related deaths in the U.S. in 2017.

Adding to his feature article in February’s NZSM, David Horsburgh PSP PCI CPP returns with a damning assessment of customer service culture within the Ministry of Social Development, writing that an organisational culture that treats customers without respect is a recipe for violence against staff. It’s something, he argues, that post-Ashburton review of the MSD security environment have failed to consider.

In the previous issue of NZSM, David wrote that the 2018 report of the State Services Commission Inquiry into the use of external security consultants by government agencies had raised the need for debate of our industry’s legal and ethical use of intrusive surveillance techniques. In this issue, James Knapp provides a contrasting perspective, arguing that the SSC findings present significant – and seemingly unreasonable – barriers to agencies’ monitoring and assessment of threats.

With minimum wage increases and other cost factors putting pressure on already very tight margins within the industry, it’s timely that Jane Arnott, Institute for Business Ethics’ New Zealand Representative, identifies areas of ethical concern in the industry. According to Jane, we should be taking pause to consider the same types of ethical questions around incentives and commissions that have recently embroiled Australia’s banking industry.

There’s plenty more news inside, with a useful legislative update from NZSA CEO Gary Morrison, an exploration of smart city trends by Ginger Schlueter, traffic management solutions from Hikvision, news from Panasonic, Pelco and Hills, an update from VST about their new partnership with Digifort, and much, much more.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the upcoming Women in Security on 3rd May at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, which is being hosted by the ASIS New Zealand Chapter. This is a must-attend security sector event where key note speakers, Bonnie Butlin and Grant Lecky will be joined by leaders from the New Zealand Cyber, Defence and Government sectors. Principal sponsor is Optic Security Group, and there are still some great sponsorship opportunities available. Visit www.asis.org.nz or contact secretary@asis.org.nz.

Also, make sure you’ve marked the NZSA Security Industry Awards Dinner on Friday 23 August into your diaries. For more information go to www.defsec.net.nz

Nick Dynon, Auckland