New Zealand parliament approves anti-terrorism laws

New Zealand’s parliament has passed new anti-terrorism laws aimed at countering the threat posed by extremist terrorist groups overseas.

The “Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill,” backed by the opposition Labor party, was approved by 94 votes to 27 late on Tuesday in a bid to stop nationals from travelling abroad to join terrorist groups, including ISIL.

The legislation permits the country’s security intelligence service to carry out surveillance for 24 hours without warrant. The law also increases the amount of time the government can cancel a passport on security reasons from one year to three years, where the person poses a risk to security.

Prime Minister John Key welcomed the anti-terror measures and said the government was keen on enhancing domestic security.

“The threats faced by New Zealand have grown and it is important that we have the ability to respond to that,” Key said in a statement.

“The government has a responsibility to protect New Zealanders at home and abroad and this legislation, passed with the support of a range of political parties, will better enable us to do that,” he added.

Last month, the premier said that government agencies had a watch list of between 30 and 40 people in or from New Zealand, who are said to be in various ways participating in extremist behavior.

According to Key, some had travelled to Syria to join ISIL while others were suspected of funding terrorism.

In later October, the UN warned that unprecedented numbers of foreigners are flocking to Iraq and Syria to join extremist groups such as the ISIL.