Tonight on Sunday ` the spy among us snooping on you and me. Listening, watching, informing. I was a real bastard. Spying on us, but for who? How much of it happens? A hell of a lot more than what most people realise. And undone by love. I immediately had this sinking feeling. I was very shy as a young kid. Tomboy, pop star, movie star, model. But yet, when the music came on, I was big and powerful. A girl from two worlds ` You know, red lipstick and eyelashes and contouring on the cheeks. (LAUGHS) Jessica Mauboy. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013 Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. Tonight, the spy who photographed and recorded you and me without us knowing and handed it over to police. Rob Gilchrist says for 10 years, he was paid by police to clandestinely photograph and record the activities of activists and people protesting. And he says we all need to know what the state does in our name. It also poses the disturbing question ` were the police operating legally? Here's Ian Sinclair. SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC You're about to meet one of our intelligence world's most controversial assets. I was seen as a major troublemaker. I was a real bastard. Code name: Muldoon. Real name: Rob Gilchrist. His mission, he says: To infiltrate various activist groups throughout NZ and, um, gain intelligence on what they were doing and who was doing it. His revelations about NZ's spy culture would prove even more bizarre than the secrets he uncovered. The government loves to say that if you've got nothing to hide, then you've got nothing to be worried about. But the reality is that if you imagined your life is in a box, how does the government know what is in your box until it opens it? SINISTER MUSIC And to look into your private life requires quite an arsenal. Um, this is most of the video equipment that we used. These are Rob's tools of trade: That's just a little button cam. covert cameras, microphones concealed in bags and clothes. So the microphone is also incorporated into the lense there. Even a tiny two-way radio hidden in his ear. It's just a earbud. Use it exactly the same way as a hearing aid. You just insert it into your ear. And a wristwatch microphone so his controllers could hear everything. And it's just a push of the watch to transmit. So, just to clarify, the police were telling you what questions to ask people, and they were eavesdropping on the answers live? Yes. Yes. With no warrant? As far as I know, no. Did it occur to you that this could be illegal? I don't know if I was naive or... trusted what I was told. You know, it never occurred to me. POIGNANT MUSIC So why is a man whose stock-in-trade was secrecy now talking? Well, that's because Rob Gilchrist reckons he was let down and abandoned by the very people who hired him ` police criminal intelligence ` and that after 10 years of secret service that he says changed his life. I got involved with a group that was stealing cars. Um... As I said, I mean, I was young and stupid. It was his own youthful dabbling in petty crime that led him to police contact. I saw, um,... what that did to my father and his relationships with a lot of his friends who were cops. Later, he decided to make amends by serving the law instead of breaking it. I guess that` a motivating a factor was to be able to show my dad maybe I wasn't such a cock-up after all. His chance came when he secretly taped a local communist meeting back in the '90s. What did you do with the tape? What did you do with the tape? That particular tape went to, um,... the SIS, um, who I understand then passed it on to the police. Apparently, he impressed the cops enough to use him as an informer. His brief: infiltrate protest groups. There were animal rights groups, anarchist-type groups. Anything with a sort of a fringe political element, I suppose. Now, your average person out there might be thinking, 'Just a bunch of protesters.' Why on earth would the police be worried about that? Why on earth would the police be worried about that? A lot of... animal rights groups overseas have done this, this and this. We know that animal rights groups have been involved in certain things in NZ. We'd like to know what those groups are, who they are, um, and what their involvement is. So trusted was he that Rob Gilchrist actually became a protest leader. When Mikey Havoc and Newsboy raided a chicken farm 10 years ago, it was a balaclaved Rob who was the voice of the animal rights activists. So you were living a lie, effectively? > Yeah, um, it's` it's been referred to as a decade of deceit. Is that how you'd describe it? Yep. Yep. How would you justify that as a job, being a spy on your mates? The reality was that they weren't my mates to begin with. I was tasked specifically to get involved with a certain people, um, and that was my job. I mean, I think everybody has certain parts of their job that they don't like. Um... People do it. He was a nice guy. He was smart; I could talk to him about anything. Um,... yeah, I-I trusted him. One who fell hook, line and sinker was animal rights activist Rochelle Rees. I bumped into him and we decided that we'd catch up, and we shared a bottle of wine and... (LAUGHS) yeah. Was it love? Yeah. Yeah. She had no idea she'd been seduced by a spy in the pay of police. Were you ever in love? > (SIGHS) I'm` I'm not gonna go there. I'm not gonna answer that. I'm not gonna answer that. So how deep was the relationship? I cared for her. I still do. Um... You know, I` Yeah, I think that` that covers it. Yeah, I think that` that covers it. Were you spying on her as well? At the time, yes. Um... When it started` Once our relationship formed, I suppose, um, there was` basically, she became out of bounds. Rochelle was yet to learn that her boyfriend was a police stooge. I wouldn't be in a relationship with him if I knew what he was doing for a living. Next up ` is your face on police files? And when the spy crossed the wrong woman. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to confront him. How much spying happens in NZ? A hell of a lot more than what most people realise. CROWD CHANTS Take a good look at these pictures. Have you ever been in a protest? CROWD CHANTS If so, you could well be on these police files snapped by Rob Gilchrist. Here's another` just a little digital camera. And not just your face ` your private conversations too. During, say a demonstration, I'd be able to transmit that conversation through a microswitch under my watch directly to police. And all along, protesters trusted him as a friend and ally. Was it difficult for you having to pretend you're one person and really being another? Constantly. Um... It's very much an act in that you need to be somebody else. And remembering that I wasn't involved with any of these groups beforehand ` I wasn't an activist; I hadn't been involved in anything political or, um, involved with animal rights or anything. Um, so it was very much new to me. But he couldn't fool all of them forever. I was once told by an ex-undercover cop that women were the most dangerous things out there in relation to undercover police officers or male undercover police officers. Rob's partner Rochelle Rees would be his undoing. Rochelle was an IT specialist, and one day, Rob asked her to fix his laptop. It was just running slow. You know, it took a long time to be able to do anything. Once in his laptop, Rochelle spotted something wrong with Rob's emails ` someone was asking too many questions. 'Are activists planning any response to this particular visiting dignitary from overseas?' Just questions like that. And activist emails all forwarded to a mystery address. I immediately had this sinking feeling, and I knew that Rob was an infiltrator. So she downloaded some spyware. He went to the bathroom, and I bluetoothed the software to his phone and opened it. And from that second on, I had access to everything. (LAUGHS) So you were spying... > I was. I was. ...on the spy. > I was. ...on the spy. > I was. Every call Rob made, every text, every email was now flicked across to Rochelle's phone. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to confront him. But if I did, I wouldn't have gotten any further information. Rob's texts revealed mysterious payments made to his bank account. It was $600-a-week one that we managed to prove was coming from the police, because one of the deposits of $600 happened to coincide with his handler texting him the previous day saying, 'I'm going to the bank tomorrow.' In the end, she couldn't bring herself to face him as his accuser. CROWD CHANTS So she left it to other activists to confront Rob. He was outed as a police stooge in the national media. I was dumped, I suppose, by police once I'd, sort of, gone past my use-by date in being identified. There wasn't a lot of backup or support from a national level. He was referred to me by some senior police that I know. Those police officers were very concerned that he may not be treated properly by the department. Lawyer Grant Cameron is now acting for Rob Gilchrist in a legal stoush with the police. He was, I think, misled ` misled in the sense that he wasn't fully informed as to what he was going to be doing or quite what the arrangements were with him personally. For that, he's seeking compensation, and the numbers are pretty big. Well, I think at the end of the day, there could be figures in excess of half a million dollars. But that's just the tip of the legal iceberg. It's very much more serious in my view, because it involves covert surveillance of people. It's essentially issues about the state spying on the populace. For 10 years, Gilchrist says he was paid to follow the direction of the police. That included carrying live cameras and microphones into private houses. Would that require a warrant? Would that require a warrant? In terms the electronic surveillance, yes. It was a fishing expedition to find out about people, what they were up to, what their intentions and motivations were. You had no reason to suspect the commission of a crime in the first place, and so no reason to be there. So I think it's illegal on that basis as well. Um, so, yeah, there are some pretty serious questions here. POIGNANT MUSIC Rob Gilchrist says his double life undercover triggered post-traumatic stress disorder. Adding to that was the backlash from his public unmasking. I had damage done my house, to my cars. Um, I had a number of death threats. Somebody put a bullet in my letterbox with 'Rob' written on it. 'He says he's not looking for sympathy ` just a fair hearing.' Why do you think the public should care about your case? Because... spies happen. I think the public needs to be aware of what it is that happens, whether it's right or wrong. Now, I'm not just justifying what I did, but I'm saying that it` it needs to... be out there. People need to be aware of... Yeah? > Yeah? > ...of what happens in reality, in the real life. Police declined to be interviewed, as the matter's before the Employment Relations Authority. But they will 'vigorously defend the action'. When we come back, the songbird flying in two worlds. I'm pretty good at the... that one. That's pretty good. (LAUGHS) Throw the shoulders. Let's roll the hips. Let's go. (LAUGHS) # I don't wanna wait till the weekend comes... # Hello again. She was a barefoot and wild-haired kid from the Boondocks of Darwin. Now she's a pop star, movie star and, of course, a model. At 24, Jessica Mauboy's star is soaring. Here's Mel Doyle. JESSICA MAUBOY'S 'POP A BOTTLE' # Here we go. Go, go! # Day and night, day and night. # You're on my mind, on my mind. JESSICA: I was very shy as a young kid. I'd be at the back of the classroom and you wouldn't hear a word of me. # I don't wanna wait till the weekend comes. # I was so shy, but yet, when the music came on, I was big and powerful. But I'm pretty good at the... that one. That's pretty good. Throw the shoulders. Let's roll the hips. Let's go. (LAUGHS) Pop star. Movie star. Model. These days, Jessica Mauboy is a lot of things. But shy isn't one of them. Don't make me laugh. (LAUGHS) I'm sorry. Here we go. SPIRITED MUSIC Jessica's journey comes with other surprises too. Let's start near Darwin. You wanna come take a ride with me? ENGINE REVS UPBEAT MUSIC Oh-ho! Yeah! That's her boyfriend, Themeli, on the back. THEMELI: You're mental, man! It's like there's two parts of me, two personalities. You know, I can be just fancy, beautiful red gown and, you know, red lipstick and eyelashes and contouring on the cheeks. (LAUGHS) And then when I'm home, I just go barefoot. My hair, you know, not properly brushed. And I love it. I love living both worlds. # Yes, words can't bring me down. Oh, no. # Don't you bring me down today. # Everywhere we go. # And everywhere we go. # And everywhere we go. # Everything we do. # Do you remember when you discovered that you could sing... and that you loved singing? I knew at a really young age. I would have been 6 years old when I understood, you know, my mum and dad telling me to sing and singing for the family. # But you've gotta make choices. Be wrong or right. # Jessica grew up in Darwin, the second-youngest of five girls. Dad Ferdy is from West Timor. Mum Therese is Aboriginal. < When did you first, sort of, notice that she sang, that was her thing? When she was 3. 3 years old. Yeah. Started singing Michael Jackson. 'It doesn't matter if you're black or white.' Non-stop. That song just kept going. < And was she good? < And was she good? She was good. (LAUGHS) When Jessica was 11, she entered a local talent conquest ` and won. # I don't really need to look very much further. # Then when she was 16, she entered a bigger one. To get to the Australian Idol auditions in Alice Springs, her dad had to go into debt. Really, I didn't have no money. I went to work, and I seen one of my mates. I said, 'Hey, um,... 'can you look in the internet for cheaper airfare Darwin-Alice Springs?' I said, 'Where did you get the money from?' And he said, 'Don't worry, I borrowed it. I'll give it back.' And that worried me the most, knowing that if I failed on this trip and I failed at the music, how are we going to, you know, repay this person back for everything that they did? # Don't make me close one more door. # She got yes from those judges, and that was` that was it. (LAUGHS) JESSICA MAUBOY'S 'BURN' # I need a doctor, 'cause this is startin' to burn. Try to fix it now... Pop queen one day,... OK, great. ...cover girl the next. # 'cause this is startin' to burn. An outback shoot that produced these beautiful photos for this month's edition. # So, baby, just let it burn. # Here's where Jessica's story takes an unexpected turn. Last year, she acted and sang in the hit movie, The Sapphires. It's based on the true story of an Aboriginal all-girl group, entertaining Aussie troops in Vietnam. # And I'm about to, just about to, just about to lose my mind. Oh, yes! # One of the Sapphires was from the Stolen Generation,... MAN: Run! MAN: Run! CHAOTIC SCREAMING, CLAMOURING ...taken from her family to be adopted by a white couple. In a movie theatre, watching, was Margaret Lindenbaur. Margaret is also one of the Stolen Generation. For 34 years, she'd been desperately trying to find her family and had all but given up hope. That... was one of the hardest things, I think, I had to do ` to-to not look for my family. I'm here to sing. Dad and Nan said I could come. But there on the big screen, a face that looked familiar. It's... It's hard to explain. It's sort of like you look at somebody, and you just see a flash of someone else. So, you know, looking at Jess, it was like, maybe, looking at one of my sisters or my cousins. On a hunch, Margaret contacted the Mauboys. They checked the birth records, and it all came together ` Margaret is indeed a long-lost auntie. (GASPS, LAUGHS) Good to see you. Good to see you. Hello, gorgeous. Oh my gosh! It's crazy. Isn't it the best thing to bring to a barbecue? Isn't it the best thing to bring to a barbecue? LAUGHTER POIGNANT MUSIC The fact that the film helped Auntie Margaret find us... Yeah, I... (LAUGHS) It's just a meant-to-be moment. # You wanna go right. You wanna go left. # You know I don't mind. Oh. # What's next? Where do you go from here? What's next? Where do you go from here? All the above. (LAUGHS) I don't know. Um, maybe a bit of a break. Nah. (LAUGHS) Um... What's break? What's that word? Um... Marriage? Babies? Marriage? Babies? Oh, my life. (LAUGHS) Um, I've heard that about 10 times. (LAUGHS) Um, not just yet, I think. I am 24 years old. I believe there's so much above and beyond that needs to be done, and, um, yeah, I just want to continue spending time with my boyfriend, having a good, you know, ride on the quad. JESSICA MAUBOY'S 'TO THE END OF THE EARTH' Whoo! # With you. # With you. # Oh-oh. Oh-oh. Oh-oh. # With you. # If you want to stick around to enjoy the quad-loving, Jessica, then put your helmet on. Someone needs to. Meanwhile, that's us for now. Do join us on Facebook: Sunday TVNZ. Thanks for joining us. Nga mihi nui. Hei kona.