Gerry Brownlee MP
National Party State Services Spokesman
28 May 2008
Labour misleads on corruption allegations
The Government has been caught out misleading the public about allegations of corruption in the Immigration Service,
says National's State Services spokesman, Gerry Brownlee.
"In Parliament today, Clayton Cosgrove stated that no instances of corruption within the Immigration Service had been
proven since 2002/03.
"That simply doesn't stack up.
"On 18 April 2007, the then-Minister of Immigration, David Cunliffe, signed off on a written parliamentary question
stating that investigators had found three cases of corruption in 2006.
"On 9 November 2006, the Auditor-General tabled a report in Parliament noting two proven cases of fraud within the
Immigration Service.
"Who is right - the Auditor-General and the Minister of Immigration at the time, or Clayton Cosgrove today in full
damage control?"
Mr Brownlee is also urging the Minister to reveal whether Crown Law saw a copy of the Oughton report into unlawful
residency decisions in the Immigration Service's Pacific Division.
"According to the current Minister, the matter was so concerning to the Chief Executive that he sought advice on whether
he could re open the file. But all this was apparently happening without the knowledge of any Ministers.
"What did Crown Law say? Did Crown Law see the Oughton report and were they aware of the serious policy breaches laid
out in that report?"
ENDS