Terrorism risk low, but 'individuals of interest' in NZ

3.00pm

Police Commissioner Rob Robinson believes the risk of terrorism in New Zealand is low but admits there are "individuals of interest" in the country.

Mr Robinson was questioned by Parliament's law and order committee over the possibility of terrorist cells operating in New Zealand.

"There is no specific knowledge of a terrorist cell in New Zealand," he said.

"There are individuals that remain of interest, yes. But whether they have the connections or any intent ... they are not of the order that have caused me concern and they are not people who have specifically any activity around that type of terrorist intent or similar at the moment."

Mr Robinson refused to say whether the individuals were immigrants because it was sensitive.

"The New Zealand police operates in a very open and transparent way but there are some matters of national security, both in terms of our preparedness, our capabilities (and) also our intelligence analysis that we seek to remain behind closed doors," he said.

"It is for the protection of citizens of New Zealand and their interests as well."

Security had increasingly been seen as a regional and international issue since the September 11 attacks on the United States, Mr Robinson said. Last month he opened New Zealand police offices in Washington, DC, and London -- the "intelligence hubs for law enforcement in terms of terrorism".

Mr Robinson meets his Australian counterpart regularly and met the Singapore commissioner earlier this year.

"Many commentators have been pointing to Southeast Asia, and Indonesia in particular, as a potential hotspot and we have been well aware of that," he said.

No specific terrorism measures had been taken since the weekend's Bali bombings but two New Zealand police officers were on their way to Bali to help Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) staff already there.

The two inspectors -- police liaison officers based in Sydney and Bangkok -- would also assess how New Zealand police could help Australian police investigating the bombings.

Security around the America's Cup regatta was already tight but would be looked at even more closely following the bombings, Mr Robinson said.

"We have always planned it as a major security operation," he said.

"Certainly the events in Bali of these past few days place another edge to our analysis and we look at that very closely, as we do various events around the country each and every day."

Mr Robinson believed the police were sufficiently resourced to do the job properly.

- NZPA

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