9. Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) Link to this
to the Minister of Immigration
How many foreign nationals have entered New Zealand with falsified or fraudulent travel documents since 1 July 2003?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) Link to this
As I said yesterday, many fewer than under the previous National administration, which took 7 years to appoint just one fraud investigation officer, or to make any substantive amount of money available for border-related inquiries.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
How effective are the systems that, he told Parliament yesterday, his Government has established since 2003, if he cannot even tell this House how many identity fraud cases have been detected entering New Zealand since 2003; how effective are the systems?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
As I told the House yesterday, this Government has created a fraud detection unit in the Department of Labour, which now has 18 staff. We have essentially established the central verification unit and the immigration profiling group. We have substantially increased border funding by $136 million since 2001. We set up the Advance Passenger Processing system in 2003. We set up the CRisM risk management and identity system last year, and the regional movement alert system in 2006, and we have a substantial Immigration Change Programme under way. Compare that with the previous Government’s effort!
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
How effective are any of those measures, which he claims his Government has done, if he cannot tell this Parliament how many of the 596 immigration identity fraud cases identified by the Auditor-General involved people who are currently in New Zealand?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
There are several reasons why I decline to give a number to the member. They are as follows. Firstly, identity fraud includes a complex set of subcategories, and it would be a mistake to compare apples and oranges. Secondly, of those cases of alleged identity fraud, a number, no doubt, in fact have not committed fraud. Thirdly, I am not prepared to disclose information that might affect ongoing investigations or apprehensions.
Peter BrownDoes the Minister accept that New Zealand’s international reputation depends on the Immigration Service having robust systems for the detection of immigration identity fraud, and that serious lapses by his department, as highlighted in the report, have put our reputation at serious risk; does he accept that?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I fully accept and support the proposition that of course our immigration system is important to both our border security and our international reputation. As I have said from the moment the report was launched, I support the report. It contains many valuable suggestions about ways in which we can further improve our system. We are implementing all of them and we will make that progress public. The contrast here is with the previous National Government, which did essentially nothing.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Precisely when was the Minister first advised that the Immigration Service was falling behind in its investigations of suspected immigration identity fraud cases?
Noting those answers, will the Minister assure the House that processes will be put in place to ensure that those who should have been deported, and are currently sitting in our prisons because they will not sign the appropriate forms, will in fact be deported in relatively short order; can he give the House that assurance?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I gave the House an assurance yesterday that I have instructed the chief executive of the department to implement all 15 of the recommendations of that report. I have noted that three of them, to my estimation, include Budget commitments, which will be matters for consideration by Cabinet in due course. The cases that the member specifically raises, which are of people detained in prison for refusing to sign travel documents, are, I would estimate, unlikely to be related to cases of identity fraud, and more likely to be failed refugee claimants.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Was the Auditor-General correct that almost 6 years after 9/11 the Immigration Service has no specific plan in place to detect identity fraud, little or no specific staff training in the area, no evaluations of effectiveness in preventing identity fraud, substandard tracking systems, and a large backlog of cases that the Auditor-General calls a “significant risk”?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Right at the start of the Auditor-General’s report, he makes two important points. Firstly, the department does have a set of processes and systems in place, for which he suggests some improvements. Secondly, right at the start, he indicates an awareness of the Immigration Change Programme, which already is, and has been for some time, working to address exactly those issues.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Does he stand by his statement made to the House yesterday: “in the last year the department has conducted 55 prosecutions.”; if so, how does he reconcile his statement with figures supplied by his own department that show that just 47 identity fraud - related cases were prosecuted over not just the last year but the last 4 years combined?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
The member should be careful not to confuse apples with another fruit that is the colour of his tie. The number I gave yesterday of 55 cases was for the period from July 2005 to June 2006, and related to all types of immigration fraud prosecutions. The number given by Mary Anne Thompson to the Christchurch Press of 47 cases since 1 July 2003 related to only immigration identity fraud cases, which is a subset of the former.