Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:616;Page:11836] 
7.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Is the Government reviewing any previous applications for residency or citizenship due to security concerns; if so how many? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 The Minister of Immigration advised the House last week that he had sought a report from officials on cases where residency had been granted but citizenship denied. He received a report this morning on four cases of that type—three from the last financial year and one from the year before. Immigration officials confirm that no issues of security concern were raised when the residency applications were being processed and the Security Intelligence Service has not recommended that any further action be taken. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is the Prime Minister aware that post - September 11 the Americans went back over all applications to their country over the last 4 years as a security measure and why have we not done the same in this country as given the number of frauds being pointed out to her Minister of Immigration year in and year out month in and month out one can surely have no confidence in what is going on in respect of security measures in this country? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: We have not been advised that it is appropriate to go back through the many many applications for permanent residence that would have been received over the years. As the member knows the migration quota is set—plus or minus 5000—at a figure of around 45000 per annum and has been for some years; it has just not seemed necessary to go back and review all those applications. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Will the Prime Minister be instructing the Minister of Immigration to review the immigration legislation to ensure that he has enough power to revoke the residency of persons who in the words of the director are of security concern? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It is possible to revoke residency as the member knows and there are criteria set out in the Act that involve revocation on grounds of there having been an administrative error fraud or the supply of false and misleading information. I understand that the 1998 amendments to the Immigration Act enable the Director of Security to issue a security-risk certificate if he were to pursue revocation on security grounds. To date only one security-risk certificate has been issued—the one extant over Mr Zaoui—and this has revealed quite a number of process problems that I am very keen to have reviewed once that particular case is completed. 
Hon Matt Robson 
: What provisions for natural justice exist at present when an application for residency or citizenship is refused and are there any plans to review the present legislation to ensure that natural justice is provided to all applicants? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I understand that people who have not been approved for permanent residence having already got status in New Zealand—such as refugee status—or those who are declined for citizenship do have the right to lay a complaint with the Inspector-General and he will look at those cases. I understand that in the four cases I referred to in the first answer where citizenship was denied after residency had been granted all four cases did lay complaints with the Inspector-General. He did not uphold any of their complaints. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Given that the Government has allegations from a very authoritative source of an al-Qaeda operative being in New Zealand in 1996 would it not be wise for the service—and every other agency concerned with our security—to be checking out who that person possibly met at the time that person arrived and sort out any unidentified arrival at that time rather than giving assurances that our country is safe when we all know that it cannot possibly be given our slack Immigration Service? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The allegation in the book by the Pakistani journalist was that that particular individual had entered on some kind of business visa. If we were to trawl through all temporary visas going back right through the 1990s that really would be a Herculean task. In addition we have no evidence at all that that man ever came here nor does Australia. Australia is now following up through its mission in Pakistan—and this will be useful for us as well—to see whether it can get any further detail. But no known alias used by that man has seen him under that alias in New Zealand.