Grey-zone threats and foreign interference
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has warned that hostile states are increasingly relying on so-called grey-zone operations, meaning actions such as cyber-attacks, disinformation, supply-chain coercion and sabotage of undersea infrastructure that stop short of open warfare. Speaking on 23 July 2026, as reported by RNZ, he described these tactics as primary tools of statecraft, but declined to release the advice he has received on the threat. His office withheld the relevant documents, and even their titles, under the Official Information Act on national security grounds.
The response
The government has pointed to measures already underway, including a 24/7 monitoring system for undersea telecommunications cables that triggers an alert when a vessel comes too close. The refusal to release the underlying advice has raised transparency questions, with the government's position being that no public interest was identified strong enough to outweigh withholding it on security grounds.
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Key milestones
PM warns of grey-zone tactics but will not release advice
RNZ reported that Luxon said competition between states now runs through cyber-attacks, disinformation, supply-chain coercion and grey-zone operations, which he called primary tools of statecraft. He would not release the advice he has been given, and his office withheld the documents and their titles under the Official Information Act, saying no public interest outweighed the national security grounds for withholding. The government has separately been rolling out 24/7 monitoring of undersea telecommunications cables.