11. PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) Link to this
to the Minister of Immigration
How many people who have been held for more than 3 months are currently in custody under any provision of the Immigration Act 1987, broken down by country of birth?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) Link to this
I am advised that there are currently four persons who have been in custody under the Immigration Act for more than 3 months. I am advised that Immigration New Zealand does not collect statistics on a person’s country of birth, but does collect them on nationality.
Does the Minister stand by his statement in his answer to written question No. 8500: “Where the duration of custody is longer than three months, this is due to the non-co-operation of the individual concerned in obtaining the required documentation.”; if so, why?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I am advised that the answers to parliamentary written questions that were given to the member certainly were correct at the time they were given.
David Benson-Pope Link to this
Can the Minister comment on the likely consequences of upholding ad hoc humanitarian appeals to the Minister?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
The likely consequence would be nothing less than a dismantling of the entire immigration system. New Zealand has a world-leading refugee appeal system, which is strengthened in the new bill that I introduced last week. New Zealanders understand that there is no point in having a clear, independent appeals process if we then act to undermine it. Of course, one can have the utmost sympathy for individuals, but these cases are extremely complicated, and they are best decided not in the court of public opinion but by the appropriate appellate body, which is in possession of all of the facts.
Keith LockeWhy is the Government trying to deport some of the people referred to, when the Government admits that those people will be persecuted back home—namely, Iranian converts from Islam to Christianity—and does the Minister agree that it was totally inhumane for one of these men, Ali Panah, to be handcuffed in Auckland City Hospital while gravely weakened after 33 days of a hunger strike?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
There are a number of questions in that question; I shall answer a couple of them. Firstly, in respect of handcuffs, I am advised that Immigration Service officers do not carry handcuffs. Secondly, in respect of the reason why people can be held in custody, I am advised that there are two reasons why people can be held in custody for longer than 3 months, pending removal. The first is failure to cooperate with a lawful removal process, and the second is making a refugee claim after being served with a removal order under section 66 of the Immigration Act 1987.
Madam SPEAKERBefore we have another supplementary question, I remind those members who have shifted from the back row to the front row that they will not use that position to interject; otherwise, they will be leaving the Chamber.
Will the Minister confirm—did I hear him correctly—that only four people have been held in custody here for over 3 months; if so, will he advise the House of what happened to the others who were in custody, because his answer to written question No. 8500 referred to a good deal more than four; can I take it that those people have been deported, and, if not, will the Minister advise what has happened to them?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I can confirm that the number that the member was given in an answer to a written question was accurate at the time it was given to him. I do not have a case by case breakdown of the changes, but I am advised that a number of those people have indeed been deported, some have been removed, and some have had a change in their status as a result of judicial action.
I seek leave to table a speech made by the New Zealand Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rosemary Banks.