While Australia avoids the ‘C’ word, NZ is unafraid to speak up

August 18, 2026 — 5:00am

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

New Zealand’s spy agency has dared utter in its formal annual threat report the word that Australia’s does not. The C-word: China.

In its annual statement of security threats published on Thursday, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) said plainly: “There are several states that conduct espionage against New Zealand, but the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the only country we have detected doing it at scale.”

And it gave details. In one instructive case study, the agency explained how a Chinese company called Purple Mountain Observatory attempted to install a satellite ground station on New Zealand soil. Without telling anyone.

“They worked with a local company that was likely unaware of the equipment’s capability to collect intelligence of military value and would have no idea who was receiving the data.”

Yes, you might ask, but what does a Chinese company have to do with government espionage? The NZSIS reminds readers that China’s system does not allow for its companies to stand apart. The NZ report names China 11 times.

Australia’s equivalent, ASIO chief Mike Burgess, delivers an annual threat assessment. Scour it as you will. You will not find China mentioned this year. Same as last year. And the year before.

Burgess has named China as a threat on other occasions in recent years. But Australian intelligence prefers the safety of speaking as part of a group, signing on to collective statements by the Five Eyes group of intelligence partners. Or staying mum.

So what? “We believe the public conversation matters,” says a NZ expert on Chinese interference and........

© Brisbane Times