As espionage lingo goes it's unheard of in this country, up until now.

There are no Russian "undeclared intelligence officers" working in New Zealand.

It's an oxymoron.

It seems to tell us there may be spies at the Russian Embassy in Wellington but if they haven't declared themselves as such, or if they haven't been outed by their embassy, then they're categorised as undeclared intelligence officers.

That's what Jacinda Ardern expects us to believe and it simply beggars belief.

It seems to be the excuse the Government's using for not following more than twenty other western countries, including those who sit with us at the Five Eyes spy table, in expelling anyone from the Russian embassy here because they haven't declared themselves as spies.

It's unheard of that someone would come to work at the embassy and declare themselves as a spy.

Chances are if they did they'd more than likely get short shrift and a few spies have been given their marching orders in the past.

But it seems now they can hide under the cloak of diplomacy and carry on as they have done in years gone by.

 

New Zealand needs to send a message to Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin that state-sponsored murder is unacceptable. Photo / AP

Ardern insists that if anyone was working at the Russian embassy here that fitted the description that the likes of Australia and others have used to expel them, and there have been more than 130 of them, then they'd be gone by now.

But if you look at the 60 that Donald Trump's sent packing, they were undeclared intelligence officers wearing diplomatic suits.

And to think that there isn't one of the 17 Russian diplomat suits working in Wellington that doesn't fit that description is quite simply unbelievable.

That's the advice Ardern's apparently had from our spies on the ground here which means that either they aren't up to the job or they need a refresher course on the intelligence-gathering activities at embassies.

So why is it important for New Zealand to join with like-minded countries?

Russia's obvious use of a nerve gas to try to take out a double agent in the sleepy English town of Salisbury is reason enough - it was a provocative act of international sabotage.

The mass expulsion of their spies around the world will cripple the Russia's intelligence gathering network and send a message to the Kremlin that state-sponsored murder is unacceptable.

PM Ardern insists that if anyone was working at the Russian embassy here that fitted the 'undisclosed spy' description, then they'd be gone by now. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Both Ardern and her Foreign Minister Winston Peters says they're keeping under review what further action can be taken.

While they're considering it they should appreciate that actions speak louder than words.