Govt terror response 'scaremongering' - Little

Labour leader Andrew Little (Simon Wong)
Labour leader Andrew Little (Simon Wong)

The Prime Minister has revealed the Government is undertaking 24-hour surveillance; monitoring people it believes pose a risk of committing a terror attack in New Zealand.

And John Key says there are a number of Kiwis linked to Islamic State (IS), even trying to raise money for them, and is scared there might be more hiding under the radar.

"Their actions are significant enough to [pose a] potential threat - exactly what [I] can't go in to," says Mr Key.

But one man known to support IS posted on social media that he thinks the Prime Minister is lying, saying "no way do we want to commit terrorist attacks in our own country".

There are 40 New Zealanders on a Government watch list, and Mr Key says one or two are being monitored around the clock.

"In a way, my concerns are never about those people because they are actually being watched right around the clock. My concerns always are people that could undertake some sort of threat against New Zealanders but are not currently on our radar screen."

The world is currently on edge, waiting to see where IS will strike next - the United States today issued a worldwide travel alert warning their citizens to be careful across the globe.

But Labour leader Andrew Little says the Prime Minister is scaremongering.

"[It's a] desperate attempt to look tough," he says.

While only one or two are under 24-hour surveillance, Mr Key says all 40 people on the watch list are at the upper end of the threat risk level, however New Zealand's official terror threat level still hasn't changed - it remains at low.

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