New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who is aiming a third term in the Sept 20 election, has been accused of spying on his citizens and "deceiving the public," reported The Guardian. The charge was levelled by leading American journalist Glenn Greenwald, who alleged that state agency GCSB was used for spying on the domestic citizens. According to him, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in New Zealand is the equivalent of NSA.

Greenwald, who is in New Zealand for a visit at the invitation of the German Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, has threatened to produce the concerned documents to prove his charge that New Zealand government planned mass surveillance of residents using the Government Communications Security Bureau.

No Surveillance

The prime minister dismissed that charge and said he was prepared to declassify the secret documents to illustrate his argument and ruled out any sort of mass surveillance. But Greenwald rejected the PM's stand and told a news channel that the John Key government not only explored the idea of surveillance but also took many steps on that.

Kim Dotcom, facing criminal charges in the U.S. on copyright cases, is hosting an event in Auckland on Monday. The event named as "Moment of Truth" is designed as a rally for the Internet party. Mr Key dismissed Greenwald as "Dotcom's little henchman" and told TVNZ's that his government in 2012, merely considered a "mass cyber-protection" on the lines of Norton anti-virus at a very high level. But the plan did not take off. Mr Key argued that Greenwald was speaking on the basis of incomplete information. Taking a dig at the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, The National Party leader said, "this happens when you hack into illegal information, wander down to New Zealand six days before an election to do Dotcom's bidding, what you get is, half the story."

Five Eyes Alliance

Greenwald is a former Guardian journalist and has written many exclusive stories based on the leaks from Edward Snowden about the surveillance by NSA and other partners in the Five Eyes Alliance in which New Zealand is a part of. It was in June 2013, former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden offered Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras lots of classified NSA documents. Mr Key's office is already battling a scandal called Dirty Politics, involving the leaks of information from the PM's office to a political blogger for targeting Opposition leaders.