New Zealand concerts to go ahead as planned

Sir Elton John will perform at Westpac Stadium in Wellington next weekend. Photo / AP

A former intelligence and defence policy analyst based in Auckland says we should not "draw too tight a parallel" between New Zealand and France when it comes to domestic terror threats. And events in the country show no sign of being affected by the attacks in Paris.

The Government today decided to keep New Zealand's domestic terrorism threat level at "low" after the devastating Paris attacks.

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Chris Finlayson confirmed that the terror threat level would remain the same, but was under continuous review.

This means there are no changes to any security measures in New Zealand, and the number of people on a terror watch-list remains at between 30 and 40.

Following the terror attacks in the French capital on Saturday morning (NZ time), strategic analyst Dr Paul Buchanan said that while he would not be surprised if the New Zealand government upped the threat status, he was not entirely sure it would be justified.

He had no doubts the Government would review the threat level with intelligence agencies, but said we had to differentiate the situation that France is in from our own.

Dr Buchanan - director of geopolitical risk consultancy firm, 36th Parallel Assessments, and a former consultant to US government security agencies - said France had bad race relations between minority communities and the majority.

"And our situation is very, very different," he said.

"It's simply not the same context, even though the Government is monitoring, according to them, 30-40 individuals who have at least sympathies for the Islamic State.

"So would it be surprising if they decided to elevate the terrorist threat level from low to medium, or whatever the next step up is? No. But I'm not entirely sure that we should draw too tight a parallel between our situation here and that of the French."

Meanwhile, in a week where New Zealand is set to host a number of high-profile concerts, New Zealand Police have reiterated that they are monitoring the security situation here.

A Police spokesperson said: "NZ Police is working closely with partner agencies to monitor the situation and will take any steps we feel are appropriate. As usual we do not discuss any detail of security matters."

A number of overseas bands and musicians cancelled and postponed concerts in Paris, Europe and other locations following the attacks, including Irish rockers U2, the Foo Fighters and Coldplay.

Sir Elton John will play at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday, while Fleetwood Mac will play at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Wednesday and Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday and Sunday.

English indie rock band Florence and the Machine will also play in Auckland on Saturday, at Vector Arena.

There has been no suggestion that any of these events will be postponed.

An Auckland Council spokesperson - speaking on behalf of Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA), Panuku Development Auckland, Ateed and Auckland Transport - said it regularly reviews its security practices and policies across all aspects of the organisation, from day-to-day operations to major events.

"Auckland Council regularly takes its lead from the police and other national agencies in regard to any potential risk and will continue to do so in the wake of this weekend's tragic events in Paris," the spokesperson said.

"For obvious reasons, we would never disclose specific security arrangements, however members of the public can rest assured that we will continue to place an emphasis on the safety and security of all Aucklanders and visitors to the city."

The RFA manages a number of event venues across the Super City, including Mt Smart Stadium, The Civic, QBE Stadium and Western Springs Stadium.

It also manages popular tourist sites like the Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Zoo, ANZ Viaduct Events Centre, Aotea Centre, Aotea Square, and the Auckland Town Hall.

"Leading up to a big event we are in regular contact with the police as part of security planning who would advise us on any threat assessments," RFA director of external relations Paul Brewer said.

And when it comes to security at the iconic Sky Tower in Auckland, a Sky City spokeswoman said it took security arrangements seriously but would not comment on individual measures.