The National Law Enforcement System, better known as ''the

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

Computer'', was a database set up in 1976 by the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; ), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the public sector organisations ...

in Wanganui,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It held information which could be accessed by New Zealand Police, Land Transport Safety Authority and the justice department. The Wanganui computer was a

Sperry Sperry may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sperry, Iowa, community in Des Moines County * Sperry, Missouri *Sperry, Oklahoma, town in Tulsa County * Sperry Chalet, historic backcountry chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana * Sperry Glaci ...

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...

computer built to hold records such as criminal convictions and car and gun licences. At the time it was deemed ground-breaking, with Minister of Police,

Allan McCready Allan McCready (1 September 1916 – 8 August 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography McCready was born in Kawakawa in 1916, the son of Alexander McCready. He received his education at Kawakawa District H ...

, describing it as "probably the most significant crime-fighting weapon ever brought to bear against lawlessness in this country".Wellington, Randall Jackson (30 May 2005
Farewell to the Wanganui ComputerComputerworld
Retrieved 21 July 2009. Seen by many as a Big Brother initiative, the database was controversial, attracting numerous protests from

libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

with concerns over privacy. The most notable event was in 1982, when self-described

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

punk Neil Roberts, aged 22, detonated a home-made

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and Potassi ...

bomb upon his person at the gates of the centre, making him New Zealand's highest-profile

suicide bomber A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

. The blast was large enough to be heard around Wanganui, and Roberts was killed instantly, being later identified by his unique chest tattoo bearing the words "This punk won't see 23. No future." The centre survived this and other protests until the 1990s when the operation was transferred to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, although this new system has retained its Wanganui moniker. The original database, having lasted 30 years and growing increasingly outdated, was finally shut down in June 2005, with the responsibility being successfully handed over to Auckland at the National Intelligence Application (also known as NIA). The building, known as 'Wairere House' was later occupied by the

National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...

and contained newspaper archives.

References

{{Reflist Law enforcement in New Zealand 2005 disestablishments in New Zealand Computer systems

See also

References