McDowall JamesDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT): I want to start by thanking those who have come into the gallery today. This debate is an opportunity for you to hear directly from the Minister of Immigration who has the power to significantly alleviate your families' suffering though I imagine you are feeling very frustrated right now. I also thank the petitioners as their efforts have led us to this debate.The big questions are: how has Immigration New Zealand (INZ) stuffed up so badly on these issues and what is the Minister going to do about it? The first question seems to be a lack of empathy at Immigration New Zealand an attitude problem a policy innovation failure poor decision-making at the application level and the inability of officials to foresee a raft of so-called unintended consequences. One strategy that demonstrates the attitude problem is the way in which visa extensions have been granted under the powers. They are last-minute which as far as I can tell is some sort of device to force migrants to have to give up and leave the country. It is highly cynical and unfair. Another good example was very recently when INZ was told off by the Ombudsman for allocating Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) applications unfairly based on informal policy.A number of petitions focus on the state of the Skilled Migrant Category and fair enough it is a total disaster. INZ has brought the processing of the Skilled Migrant Category to a standstill which is supposed to be their flagship visa for attracting and retaining the skills that we desperately need in New Zealand. It pales in comparison to the schemes they have in other countries. Not only has the Skilled Migrant Category stalled with absurdly long processing times but INZ has shot themselves in the foot yet again by having an expression of interest (EOI) queue that is still open for submissions but they're not drawing on it. It's now over 9000 we hear today—unbelievable.I think the Minister should have an honest conversation about the Skilled Migrant Category because in reality there is no real residency system in this country any more. We're telling people that we want them to commit their lives and skills here but the walls are closing in on many pathways. So my answer to the issues raised by the petitioners on the SMC and the EOI selections is that INZ should wipe the slate clean and offer an efficient transitional pathway to residency for all temporary visa holders stuck in those queues.Petitions also seek travel exemptions for partners and children of temporary visa holders. I agree with this; it's well overdue. And while he's at it the Minister should address the impossibly stupid fetch your partner" requirements forcing people to leave New Zealand go into areas with many active cases of COVID-19 and then return here with their partner which increases the border risk and utilises resources at managed isolation and quarantine facilities. It's just insanely stupid. What's happening in reality is that people are being stranded overseas for a variety of legitimate reasons which again I'm guessing is actually the real objective here: they want them gone.Keeping families apart including very young children is a shameful practice that INZ should have resolved long ago. I know that members receive correspondence about the terrible situations that migrants are in and the lack of compassion that INZ has shown towards them. One example is a highly skilled clinical psychologist who got in touch with me very recently. She is employed in a Government agency that deals with very difficult cases. Her husband has been stranded overseas for longer than a year without possessions or family there unable to return to New Zealand. She's now at a point where she's about to walk away from New Zealand. I can assure this House that the agency that employs her will find it extremely difficult if not impossible to fill her role if she leaves. All they need is a simple border exemption.One petition addresses international students. Again I agree with this. Existing students or at least those who have valid visas in 2020 should be given the chance to return to New Zealand. They are in enormous debt and many of them are still paying bills and rent here for God's sake.I've also received many complaints about decision making at the case officer level. This is where things just get ridiculous—countless examples of getting basic policy and immigration directions wrong which is why something like 50 percent of the applications to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal are successful. Anyone can go on to the Justice website on a weekly basis and read about the latest mistakes daft mistakes that have been made.The problems raised in these petitions run deep at INZ but are not unsolvable. So we have to ask ourselves: how do we want to act as a country what do we owe the people in the gallery here today and outside Parliament and finally how are we going to repair the damage that has been done to our international reputation as an ideal destination for work and study?There's actually another petition that is currently open on the parliamentary website entitled "Remove the Hon Kris Faafoi as immigration Minister". [Applause from gallery]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Order! Order!Dr JAMES McDOWALL: And in the words of the late Margaret Thatcher in her final appearance as Prime Minister "What a good idea!""