Take a look inside the Waihopai spy base for the first time

September 27, 2019

The GCSB has released footage of the satellite monitoring station to mark its 20th anniversary.

We’ve seen the big white domes plenty of times from the outside, but now a camera has been allowed inside the Waihopai spy base for the first time.

The domes house 18-metre satellite dishes that can collect a billion pieces of communication a day for intelligence.

Andrew Hampton, the director-general of the Government's security bureau GSCB, said the covers were to protect the satellites rather than act as a security measure.

"Whilst the dishes themselves aren't classified you have to get into the domes which means going through the secure site. There's a risk that you may capture on your camera or see stuff which actually is sensitive and could be of value to someone who wants to do harm to New Zealand," he said.

The footage was released by the GSCB to mark its 30th anniversary.

The base has been at the centre of protests over many years about concerns over the protection of private information.

In 2008, activists broke through fences and deflated the domes with sickles and knives.

Investigative journalist Nicky Hager entered the base twice.

Mr Hager said of the spy base in 1997: "There is nothing going on that justifies this wholesale intrusion on privacy."

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