Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:613;Page:10057] 
3. DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
 on behalf of  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Immigration 
: What success has her department had in identifying and deporting overstayers in the last 12 months? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 A total of 1984 overstayers were identified from 1 November 2002 to 31 October 2003; 986 overstayers were removed and 998 left voluntarily after being identified by the New Zealand Immigration Service. On comparing the estimated overstaying numbers with the comparable removal and voluntary departure statistics this year’s figures show a significant improvement on the 1997-98 year. 
Dail Jones 
: Can she explain why the overstaying Hungarian couple Joseph and Theresa Bertalan so easily slipped through the system unnoticed when they were working on visitor permits that expired in June obviously had maternity care during Mrs Bertalan’s pregnancy had access to taxpayer-funded accommodation and have now given birth to a child who is a New Zealand citizen; and why is it that only through Mr Bertalan allegedly breaking the law by shoplifting and giving foulmouthed abuse to the local police has this couple finally been exposed to Immigration Service officials? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: I am not at liberty to disclose details of individuals’ cases without their consent or without their waiving their right to privacy. 
Keith Locke 
: Why is the Government trying to deport Mr Abdikarim Ali Haji to Somalia via South Africa when it is known that the safety of such a deportee cannot be guaranteed in Somalia which has no properly functioning Government; and why is the Government not following other Western nations like the United States in not deporting to Somalia at this time? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: That particular case has resulted in a High Court intervention. The Government is therefore not removing him at this stage. The Associate Minister has been asked by the court to take into account the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees guidelines which we are expecting to receive very soon. 
Dail Jones 
: What is the problem on the ministry’s part in failing to give information about these people whose case is well reported in the paper whose permits have well and truly expired who have been using the under-resourced health board who are costing the New Zealand taxpayer thousands of dollars and who are committing crimes here? What is the problem with the Minister telling the House what is going on with her department? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: I am perfectly well aware of the details of this particular case but what that member consistently fails to accept is there is an absolute obligation on my part as the Minister of Immigration to respect individuals’ privacy up to the point that they either specifically give permission for their cases to be discussed or waive their right to privacy as some particular individuals have done by making their particular cases public. In this particular case the advice I received was that the individuals did not come to the attention of Immigration Service officials until the police were involved.