The Minister responsible for the GCSB is insisting the decision to exclude the tech giant Huawei from Spark's 5G rollout is because of the technology not because the company is Chinese.
The electronic spy agency has rejected Spark's plan to use Huawei equipment in its new network citing significant national security risks. However there are concerns that an equally significant risk will be to this country's relationship with its biggest trading partner.
The minister responsible for the GCSB, Andrew Little, is in our Wellington studio.