Security and surveillance project
The Security and Surveillance Project promotes research into the interrelated subjects of security intelligence and state surveillance.
This project was established at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies on 1 March 2015. It coincides with the beginning of a project funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand's Marsden Fund: 'Secret World—Security Intelligence and State Surveillance in New Zealand, 1907–2007'. The Security and Surveillance Project is interdisciplinary and international in scope.
On 13 July 2023, the first book from the project was launched: Richard S. Hill and Steven Loveridge’s co-authored Secret History: State Surveillance in New Zealand, 1900-1956 (Auckland University Press).
It was launched by the Minister responsible for New Zealand’s security services, Hon. Andrew Little, at a packed-out function. The Minister stated that the book "does an outstanding job of describing the early intelligence efforts of the nascent New Zealand state" and that he regarded it "as only a good thing that we now have a scholarly history of our principal HUMINT (or human intelligence) service."
All enquiries should be directed to the Project's director, Professor Richard Hill.
October 2024—Ian Wards Prize
Congratulations to Emeritus Professor Richard Hill, and Senior Researcher Dr Steven Loveridge, who have been selected to receive the 2024 Ian Wards Price (Archives and Records Association of New Zealand) for Secret History: State Surveillance in New Zealand, 1900-1956. The prize recognises a published work which makes substantial, imaginative, and exemplary use of New Zealand archives and records. There were more than a few excellent candidates this year, but Secret History really stood out.
