By Winston Peters

In Western democracies, we take our freedom for granted. We are free to speak our minds on talkback shows, yell insults at the referee during rugby games and write all sorts of idiotic nonsense on social media.

This freedom has come at a high price so governments guard it carefully and the cost is the price of the military and security arrangements through intelligence agencies. The Government Communications Security Bureau is one of those agencies.

In Parliament there is an Intelligence and Security Committee chaired by the Prime Minister. It has a statutory role to examine a wide range of security and intelligence issues. The material it handles is sensitive and classified and it can also involve the security of our allies.

It is therefore unacceptable that classified information before the committee has been leaking its way into the Fairfax media group by way of the Dominion Post newspaper in Wellington. To add to our concern, the Prime Minister himself admitted during Question Time on Wednesday that following a “leak” from the committee “…the committee clerk wrote to all members after that leak emerged and reminded them of their obligations and to be careful.”

This is serious stuff. It is actually a crime (Section 78 – Crimes Act) to release classified material yet an individual has seen fit to show these papers to a journalist on several occasions. The Dominion Post itself has said the material was leaked and it is obvious that the recent “Kitteridge” report on the GCSB was sighted by a journalist who could quote the number of pages it contained! Other leaks included morale at the GCSB and matters relating to the Kim Dotcom case.

No Parliament can afford to have “leakers” on intelligence and security matters. These leaks should be treated seriously by the Prime Minister and all those associated with this committee. In our view this is the job of the Police and they should be called in to investigate.

During the Second World War in Britain, thousands of ordinary people had access to Top Secret material during the course of their work. There were signs posted everywhere “Loose Lips Sink Ships”.

Very few of those people sank ships. Some politicians today could learn to follow their example.

Winston Peters is the leader of New Zealand First

I don’t expect Peters to follow the example he is imploring others to follow – that would break from a political lifetime of bad habits.

This columb omits the very explicit accusations Peters has made in the house. As he knows, loose lips outside Parliament could sink him.

In general I agree with what Peters says here, there shouldn’t be leaks, especially of classified information. I agree that leakers should be held to account, whoever they are.

But it is more than a little hypocritical of Peters to be so critical of leaking.

If Peters’ accusations have any basis in fact it would mean he has been leaked information about the ongoing David Henry invesitgation (into leaking).

And it would mean he has been leaked confidential phone records of Peter Dunne.

Peters is either the recipeint of leaked confidential information or he is making things up (some would call that lying).

And still Peters can prove nothing regarding criminal behaviour. It would appear that he is trying to initiate a vindictive police investigation through assumptive bluster. Or lies.

Winstons has proven his lips can’t be trusted. Yes, or no?