Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:626;Page:20791] 
1. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Immigration 
: Is he aware of a Amer Salman of Bucklands Beach Omar Ali of Howick and a man named Jazwan and whether they have connections to the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein; if so what are they doing here? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Acting Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 At this point I am unable to confirm whether the individuals referred to by the member are living at the addresses or whether the member’s claims are true. I invite the member to meet with me directly after question time and I will be happy to receive any further information he has on these individuals. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why on earth would any member of Parliament do that given that with regard to the Ali family and 16 fraudulent cases in this country brought to the Prime Minister’s attention by a person outside of this Parliament in April any official whatsoever has yet to visit that family and despite the comments from his colleague Mr Paul Swain the Minister of Immigration that this matter is in the hands of the Serious Fraud Office if after 6 weeks nothing is done why would I confer with him? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Many claims are made in this House. If we do receive any information from anyone be they members of Parliament or the public we look at it very carefully. I remind the member that there is a danger for individuals in raising information in the public arena at times as was pointed out to that member last week by a lawyer who said that identifying the person in question allowed that person greater access to refugee status. 
Dianne Yates 
: What has the Government done to strengthen border security? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: We have done heaps. The Immigration Service has recently brought decision making on visa applications on shore beginning with the highest-risk applications. A new category of undesirability is being developed to allow staff to better judge the suitability of applicants. We have added more than $30 million over past years to strengthen border security. We have established a fraud unit. We have introduced an Advance Passenger Processing system which has stopped 650 people from entering New Zealand. This Government is committed to proper border protection for this country. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why would the Minister repeat the shyster views of a lawyer who knew full well when he said them that the man he was talking about had already before he was named gone to see Ahmed Zaoui’s lawyers for the purpose of lodging a refugee application; why would the Minister against all the chronological evidence repeat that sort of view? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Because the facts are that if one raises people’s names in the public arena be it in this House or outside it adds weight to their claims that they may be persecuted if they are sent back to their country. That adds to their case for refugee status. It is not something that this Government wishes to condone at all. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: If the former Minister for Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in the Saddam regime came from Kuwait and not Iraq why would he have to be sent back to Iraq and not Kuwait where he happily lived for 10 months when he came here for the purpose of bringing his son as well? This is the real point: what is a former chief person in the police of Saddam Hussein Omar Ali doing here and what are two Baath Party group leaders—key apparatchiks in the Baath Party—Jazwan and Amer Salman doing here? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: As I said first up I cannot confirm those claims at this point but if the member wants to pass on any further information about these individuals I will welcome that information. I am happy to meet with the member straight after question time. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: If a member of Cabinet is given the names and locations of people whose entitlement to be here is in question why is that not enough information for all the agencies of the law in this country to act; or will we see the same thing happen that has occurred in respect of the Ali family—even though they have been challenged to have DNA tests no one at this point in time is verifying anything about their fraudulent applications? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: The member has provided very little information. He has provided three names one a man named Jazwan. That is not sufficient to accurately identify people let alone to work out whether the accusations and claims the member makes are true. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How many Iraqis from the Saddam Hussein regime has the Government caught thus far since this issue was brought to the Minister’s attention many years ago? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I cannot answer that question but if the member wishes to forward a written question I will be more than happy to answer it. It would help if the member could provide more information around his claims. I am happy to meet him after question time to get that information. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Is it possible for a Middle Eastern man who is facing very serious criminal charges in New Zealand to be granted refugee status? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I cannot answer that question without knowing the details of the individual his so-called convictions and on what grounds he is claiming refugee status. There is an international protocol around the allocation of refugee status to anyone and we abide by that process. I am more than happy to meet with even this member after I have met with Mr Peters to get more information about that case. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Would the Minister take up this offer that we have a meeting after he has spent at least a week with his own officials and all the other agencies of law enforcement that he should be using with regard to this matter rather than putting up a pretentious hopeless defence in Parliament on a daily basis? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: If those officials were provided with more accurate and detailed information it would save this country a huge amount of taxpayers’ dollars. If Mr Peters would provide more accurate information we would all be better off. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table four documents. Firstly I seek leave to table a report from the Prime Minister that she has put the Ali family case in the hands of the various agencies. 
Document not tabled. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Secondly I seek leave to table the report from Paul Swain last week that he had put the matter in the hands of the Serious Fraud Office. 
Document not tabled. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Thirdly I seek leave to table a very illuminating article in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 seeking to defend this family that has been put upon. 
Document not tabled. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Fourthly I seek leave to table another article in the  
New Zealand Herald  
which sets out that the Ali family has been challenged to a DNA test that at this point in time no official has been to see them and that there has been a deafening silence since the DNA challenge was put out to the Ali family as to whether they will go through the process of finding out whether they are here legitimately. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is.