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Story: Freedom of official information

Bill Sutch: declassified SIS file

The Official Information Act 1982 and other measures towards open government have resulted in previously secret material being released to the public. This has included edited extracts from Security Intelligence Service (SIS) files held on former top civil servant, economist and historian W. B. Sutch, which were released in 2003. The extract states, on page 29, that 'we [the SIS] have accumulated six files on Sutch, and yet can prove nothing of which he is suspected.'

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New Zealand Security Intelligence Service

Source: Security Intelligence Service, http://www.nzsis.govt.nz/Archives/1974-05-30-Sutch-TA.pdf (PDF 1.75 MB)

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How to cite this page

Nicola White, Freedom of official information – From secrets to availability, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/34781/bill-sutch-declassified-sis-file (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nicola White, published 18 May 2012.