Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:621;Page:16705] 
4.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Immigration 
: What will the inquiry into Somali refugee Asha Ali Abdille announced on Friday 5 November involve that was not completed by his officials at an earlier date? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 The investigation into Asha Ali Abdille will confirm the facts of her case including her earlier declarations and her current sponsorship application. A preliminary report is to be provided to me by Friday. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why is a so-called refugee who has a police record a mile long who has been here for 10 years bludging off the New Zealand taxpayer and who still is trying to bring in 14 of her relatives only now the subject of an inquiry by the New Zealand Immigration Service? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: For a start she is not a so-called refugee; she came in as a refugee under the previous National Government. There are of course allegations about convictions and she has admitted some. I note the member said that the number of convictions would make Al Capone proud—although I would be surprised if bootlegging were among them. But it is important to get to the bottom of the case particularly in relation to her sponsorship application and that is primarily where the investigation is going. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Will the Minister be including in his investigations into Asha Ali Abdille the 33 family members of the three  
Tampa 
 boat people—that is 11 each—who have been approved for refugee status and also the person reported in today’s  
Dominion Post 
 as having been found guilty of lying in respect of his permanent residence application in that he declared he did not have AIDS; frankly why do we have these people in our country? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: In answer to the first part of the question no. In relation to particularly the last part of the question about the person who supposedly has HIV that matter will now go through the normal process whereby the status of somebody who lied in an application is considered by the department. I imagine that that investigation is likely to end in revocation proceedings. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Why is it so easy under this Government for refugees to come into the country when people who want genuinely to contribute to the New Zealand economy are having to wait 8 weeks for a work permit from the Hamilton office and 5 weeks for a work permit from the Wellington office whereas they would find if they go across the Tasman on a plane that the wait for a permit from the Sydney office was 5 days? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I understand that the member raised that matter at the select committee last week. It is true that the amount of time people wait for a work permit from the Hamilton office is not acceptable. In some parts of the country it is much much better as the member says. But by and large we are wanting the application turn-round to be shorter because there are a lot of people who want to come and live in New Zealand notwithstanding the whingeing whining and moaning of the National Party. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Well there was interjection the whole time the Minister was speaking. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is it true that three of the  
Tampa 
 boat boys have brought in 11 people each since they arrived in this country and why is Helen Clark not telling the country that instead of maintaining that we have a quota of 750 United Nations refugees? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Yes it is true that that is the number of people who have been brought in. I do not think there is any need for the Prime Minister to say that because it has been in the newspapers. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Is it not a fact that his department has confirmed that 35 of the  
Tampa 
 boys have brought in over 207 family members and what restrictions will this Government put in place to stop each of the 33 who were brought in by three of the  
Tampa 
 boys from bringing another 11 refugees into New Zealand? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Well firstly I cannot confirm the absolute number— 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: You gave it to me. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Well I have not got the number in front of me but I can confirm that a number have been brought in. Of course a lot of these people came in under the previous National Government—a point that is often forgotten—and that was in the days when National honoured its international obligations instead of attacking the most vulnerable in the community just to try to get a few miserable political points. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: There is far too much noise. I allow a bit of interjection. The Minister was giving an answer that was objected to and I was going to allow that interjection to go on but that was too much. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why is it that when we have women having to go abroad for cancer operations all manner of people on hospital waiting lists for longer than has ever been the case since 1999 and there is so much in this country that needs to be paid for he and his colleagues are constructing a bludgers’ paradise for people who are not refugees at all? 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: If someone is granted refugee status as a resident in New Zealand— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: That’s one. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: —yes—he or she is entitled to the services. In fact the hospital waiting list has gone down under my colleague the Minister of Health. Finally many of the policies around refugee status were in place when that member was Treasurer. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I seek leave to table an official Government document that shows every single one of the refugees sponsored by a  
Tampa 
 refugee has come in under this Government’s watch. 
Document not tabled.