Media Release

8 August 2007

Immigration Act Changes Welcome, But New Stand-Alone Department Needed

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has welcomed the changes introduced in the rewritten Immigration Act tabled in Parliament today, but believes that the changes have not gone far enough to address serious failings in our immigration system.

“New Zealand First secured the review and rewrite of the outdated Immigration Act as part of its confidence and supply agreement with the Labour-led government, and the changes represent a positive step to address a number of issues,” said Mr Peters.

“The tightening of the law surrounding those who pose a risk to New Zealand and moves to strengthen border security are welcome amendments. We have been all too often taken advantage of by fake refugees and other undesirables seeking to benefit from our well recognised reputation as a soft touch.

“While the changes are a move in the right direction, it is a shame that the government did not seize the opportunity to introduce a water-tight system whereby New Zealand holds absolute control over who enters and exits the country.

“These changes will not be effective as long as Immigration continues to be headed by a department with a long running history of failure. The time has come for Immigration to become a stand-alone agency, completely separated from the Department of Labour. This would enable quality public servants with a commitment to do the job properly a real opportunity to do so.

“Why should the public trust a Labour Department operation which has stumbled from one disaster to another for decades now. Who could forget the embarrassing gaffes involving New Zealand’s ‘most wanted’ overstayer, Saied Ghanbari, or the former Minister for Agrarian Reform from Saddam Hussein’s regime?

There are some very good officials working in Immigration and they need to be given a chance to do their jobs properly under a stand-alone agency. Unfortunately for New Zealanders, until this much needed step is taken, the history of failure in Immigration is set to continue,” said Mr Peters.

ENDS

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