Submissions on changes to security intelligence legislation should not be made in secret, Labour leader Phil Goff says.

The Government yesterday announced it would be making changes to modernise the law for the Security Intelligence Service (SIS).

The changes were to be in place before the Rugby World Cup next year and included specific clauses for electronic tracking and tapping into internet accounts and cellphones.

Public submissions made to the secretive Intelligence and Security Committee on the changes would not be open to the public, nor the media, Prime Minister John Key said.

He said the secrecy was necessary to protect national security, but he would not be drawn on the specifics of how.

Goff said he could see no reason for submissions on the bill to be heard in secret.

''What people have to say about the bill should be open for the public to follow.

''If there are extraordinary circumstances where the material is sensitive then you could ask for that to be held in private but the norm ought to be those submissions being heard in public.''

Goff said he would raise the issue with Key.

Labour intended to support the bill but may put forward amendments after hearing the submissions.

Key said he had ''no issues'' with submissions to the Intelligence and Security Committee being made public.

''It's always been heard in private. There's nothing new there. There are issues potentially of national security and we don't want to compromise those. There's nothing secret about the bill. You're free to read it, anyone's free to interpret it. I've got no issues with releasing those submissions in either in full or in part, providing they don't challenge national security.''

Key said the GCSB bill, introduced in 2001 under a Labour Government, was also heard behind closed doors. ''Its always been the way that they've been held in private. This bill is public, so anyone can read the bill.''

The Intelligence and Security Committee includes Key, Goff, ACT leader Rodney Hide, Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia and co-leader Russel Norman.

Mr Key earlier said the bill would not alter the steps needed to get interception warrants or make it any easier to do so. "It's a very thorough process and you can see by the number of warrants we issue, between about 11 to 15 a year, it's not a large number so we're quite selective in what we do."

He acknowledged the SIS wanted a broader review of its powers, but said that had been pushed back while the Government concentrated on getting the changes in the bill through in time for next year's Rugby World Cup.

Greens' SIS spokesman Keith Locke said the Government was using the tournament as an excuse to ram through the changes.

"The main security problem for the World Cup will be drunken fans, which is best dealt with by restricting the supply of alcohol, not restricting our civil liberties. New Zealanders should be worried that proposed changes give the SIS more power to covertly intercept communications, invade computers, and put tracking devices on people's cars."

- with MARTIN KAY