8. Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) Link to this
to the Minister of Immigration
Does he have confidence in the New Zealand Immigration Service; if so, why?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) Link to this
Yes; because it is a hard-working and conscientious department.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Precisely what is being investigated in his department, when on 10 August this year the deputy secretary of the legal and international services division of the Department of Labour wrote: “I have begun an investigation into the circumstances in which the 91 business applications were approved. I have asked an independent lawyer from a private sector law firm to manage that investigation.”?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
If the member wishes to have a precise answer to a precise matter of correspondence, it would be as well for him to put it in the primary question. I shall endeavour to check and get back to him.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Is it correct that 64 investor and long-term business visa applications, tabulated in a letter of 5 September 2006 under the signature of Stephen Dunstan for the Secretary of Labour, and copied to the Serious Fraud Office, were decided either on the same day they were received in 2002 or on the day following; if that is correct, were proper procedures followed?
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Is it correct that 24 of those 64 investor and long-term business visa applications decided in 2002 within 32 hours of receipt were from China; if so, how would it be possible for all document verification to be completed within 32 hours?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Notwithstanding the fact that it is my pleasure to lead a very hard-working and conscientious department, I refer the member to my previous answer.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Will the inquiry, initiated during this Minister’s term, cover the allegation that a former general manager of the New Zealand Immigration Service, Mr Andrew Lockhart, removed two internal auditors who were auditing the records of the business migration branch because they were investigating documents concerning the former general manager’s wife, who was employed by the department?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I refer the member to my earlier answer, and I would say that we take a case by case approach to cases, as he does to sheep.
Madam SPEAKERThe bit at the end was not necessary. Would the Minister withdraw that last comment; it was totally irrelevant to the answer.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Is it correct that two former Ministers of Immigration, Lianne Dalziel and Paul Swain, refused to investigate these matters; if so, what does the record show were their reasons for refusing to investigate such serious allegations?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I refer the member again to my previous answer, and repeat that there are a range of mechanisms by which detailed answers to such written material may be elucidated. Written and Official Information Act requests are also often used in that regard.