Spy victims: Vindication for Southern Response's 'appalling' actions

Thursday, 20 December 2018

Southern Response claimant Cam Preston was visited by police and the subject of spying by a government contractor.

Southern Response has a new chairman, but spied-on customers are demanding cultural change over its 'appalling' surveillance tactics.

Former Christchurch City councillor and Canterbury District Health Board chairman Alister James will replace Ross Butler, who stepped down from the Crown-owner insurance claims company this week after a damning report on the hiring of security firm Thompson and Clark for surveillance work.

New Southern Respoonse chairman Alister James is a former Christchurch City councillor and Canterbury District Health Board chairman.

Those spied-on say a change of culture is needed at Southern Response and a new chairman may not be enough.

Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods said James was 'widely respected' and would bring experience to the role he has until mid-2019.

A Southern Response class action meeting was attended by a surveillance firm.

Ali Jones is a Southern Response claimant, who has advocated for other earthquake insurance claimants.

* Southern Response boss resigns before meeting with Minister

* Minister weighs up Southern Response chair's future

* Security firm spied on politicians, activists and earthquake victims

* Southern Response approached disgruntled claimant Cam Preston's employer with unproven allegations**

He had been through the Canterbury earthquake experience with his own home, and also chaired Christchurch City Holdings, Ngā Hau e Whā marae and the Greater Christchurch Public Transport Joint Committee.

Southern Response, formed to settle the claims of failed insurer AMI, hired Thompson and Clark from 2014 to 2017. It was one of several government organisations to use its services.

The report said security firm infiltrated and recorded groups of Southern Response claimants, originally to counter documented safety threats to staff but later to protect its reputation. Day-to-day dealings with Thomson and Clark were handled mainly by Southern Response's communications team, the report said.

Former Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has stood by Southern Response's actions as a legitimate way of protecting staff, and said Butler was badly treated. Woods, however, said the report drew the distinction between safety concerns and 'secretly infiltrating claimant's legal meetings for the purposes of protecting the organisation's brand'.

Many senior employees aware of the surveillance have since left Southern Response. Former chief executive Peter Rose shifted to Australia to work as an insurance consultant, and communications general manager Linda Falwasser works in strategic public relations for another organisation.

Files supplied to one claimant by the privacy commissioner and shared with Stuff include dozens of Southern Response emails about individuals, including photographs, a vehicle registration number, and copies of social media postings.

Slides from a Thompson and Clark digital presentation to Southern Response staff included the names and photographs of certain claimants said to pose a threat.

Peter Glasson, who co-founded a lobby group supporting Southern Response customers and one of those spied on, said a poor culture appeared to go right through the company.

'It's an organisation that needs new management and new leadership. It's not just the chairman, it needs to go further.'

He, and others who organised groups to fight their claims considered they were being watched despite Southern Response saying they did not target individuals, Glasson said.

'It's not even a corporate, it's a government organisation doing this kind of thing to New Zealand citizens … I was flabbergasted.'

Claimant Cam Preston, who was visited at one stage by police while fighting his claim, said they had been vindicated by the report, and all those responsible should be held accountable.

'The people of Christchurch are a bit sick of this line that there doesn't need to be accountability when lessons are learned. Sometimes there needs to be consequences.'

Preston said Southern Response had overstated the security threat as their reason for surveillance, and believed it was trying to find out what groups organising court action were doing.

Insurance advocate Ali Jones, herself a Southern Response customer, said she was pleased the 'appalling behaviour' had been exposed by the report, and appalled Brownlee thought Southern Response's activities were acceptable.