Claims 'nothing but rhetoric' - PM

John Key fronts the press while visiting Dunedin today. Photo Gerard O'Brien
John Key fronts the press while visiting Dunedin today. Photo Gerard O'Brien
The Moment of Truth meeting in Auckland last night ''utterly failed'' to deliver anything other than rhetoric, Prime Minister John Key told media on a visit to Dunedin today.

He refused to answer questions on data programme XKeyScore, saying none of the five eyes' governments discussed such programmes.

He repeated assurances that New Zealand did not go ahead with a business case proposal to conduct mass surveillance.

Mr Key said the speakers at the meeting, including Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, presented ''their own world view'', which had little to do with the concerns of ordinary New Zealanders.

He said they presented no evidence to back claims of mass surveillance, or the presence of National Security Agency facilities in New Zealand.

Asked about Mr Snowden's claim he could access New Zealand data, Mr Key said the only New Zealand data available to Mr Snowden in his previous role would have involved people suspected of being a threat.

Of the NSA facilities, Mr Key said there was no NSA facilities in New Zealand to his knowledge. Pressed on the issue, he said he could not completely rule out something he had no knowledge about, adding there might also be a ''martian out there somewhere''.

He did not directly answer a question about whether New Zealand would have to be informed of the existence of an NSA facility.

New Zealand did not have the technical capability to conduct mass surveillance, he said.

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