"Lie in Unison" Memo Utterly Unprecedented, Says McCully.

National Party Immigration spokesman Murray McCully is describing an official Immigration service memo claiming an agreement to "lie in unison" as "utterly unprecedented and almost beyond belief."

He describes the reported explanations from the Minister, the general manager and the spokesperson this morning as "spinning in unison."

"The fact that the Minister, the general manager and the spokesperson are all using the word "flippant" in unison to explain the memo suggests that there is a very sick culture at work in the department," says Mr McCully.

"It is almost unbelievable that officials from the Immigration Service or any public service department, could adopt a strategy of agreeing to "lie in unison."

"If there were important security issues to be considered, then a refusal to comment is the appropriate approach.

"For officials to conspire to lie, as this memo appears to suggest, strikes at the very heart of public confidence in the public service.

"For the Minister to be so closely associated with these events raises serious questions as to her level of knowledge and involvement.

"She must now explain these matters to the public and the Parliament," says Mr McCully

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