Heatley Phil: Immigration Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Heatley Phil: Immigration Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:609;Page:6774] 
PHIL HEATLEY (NZ National—Whangarei) 
: I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the title of this bill. I will start off by laying out an offer to listeners to Parliament and all those interested in this bill that is running roughshod over genuine immigrants wanting to come to this country. The offer is this: could someone please send the Minister another letter? Because in the 4 years that this Government has been in power she has had only one letter from one supporter which she keeps bringing to this House time and time again to justify her position. Where was that letter from? 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: I got it only this year. 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: The Minister tells us that she received a letter in support of her work only this year. What country was that letter from? 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: The guy was in New Zealand on a job-search visa. 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: From what country? 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: From India. 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: The Minister informs us that her cousin from India wrote her a letter. The only support she can get in 4 years is one letter from her cousin which she keeps bringing down to this House to dish out. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: Stop misrepresenting me! 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: I am sorry I do not know how close the family member is who keeps writing to the Minister but I just ask someone to please send the Minister another letter of support. After 4 long years and 15 years of this policy being in place we want to know that this Minister has other supporters out there. I ask her supporters to please write to her. 
We are here under urgency to debate this bill. I want to support my colleague Pansy Wong—I support her in virtually every enterprise that she undertakes—in changing the name of this bill to the “Immigration Amendment (Rejection of Application Without Reasons) Bill” because that is what it is. I want to make the Minister painfully aware of the New Zealanders out there and of those people out there who want to come and remain in this country—those genuine potential settlers in this country. Clearly in the last couple of years since she became a Minister she has not been turning up to her electorate office to face genuine people who want to come to this country and contribute. She has not faced them or walked with them through 2 years of applications. 
My electorate office actually helps the Immigration Service process many of those applications and advises the Minister’s office of that. That Minister has not walked through the process with those people for 2 years; she has not taken them through all those hoops jumped over all those hurdles held their hands rung them back written letters and advocated for them—only to find that this Government legislates over all that work and all those genuine applications. To be blindsided through legislation introduced into the House and passed over 48 hours and to be blindsided after 2 years’ work is so very soul-destroying. Perhaps the Minister should turn up to her electorate office start working with people on the ground and experience those genuine cases. 
I know there are cases that are not genuine. I know that people want to come to this country who have nothing to offer. I know that the Minister lets those people in willy-nilly then loses track of them. I believe she has lost track of 20000 people. Why is the Minister riding roughshod over those genuine people who want to come to this country and contribute? I do not know. It is certainly turning the corner on what she has said previously. The way she has done it is highly disheartening and I do not like to question her professionalism. To say in this House amongst colleagues who previously had respect for this Minister: “I do not appreciate a Government— 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: Name one! 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: I can name several—those members of United Future. I have seen those members following this Minister around opening doors for her and brushing dust off her coat. They respect this Minister but no one else does.