Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8833] 
9.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Immigration 
: Does she have confidence in the systems of the New Zealand Immigration Service? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 Generally speaking yes. However systems can fail when people give undertakings that are not honoured such as occurred with the Tongan rugby players who have brought shame on themselves their community and their country. I support the Tongan community leaders who are calling for them to come forward and leave New Zealand now. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I wonder whether the Minister could focus her mind on something that is worse than the Tongan situation—that is how can she have any confidence in the system generally or otherwise when immigrant beneficiaries such as Mr Narongdet Sanguankwamdee are being allowed to skip the country for months still receiving thousands in student allowances due to the Immigration Service failing to notify the Ministry of Social Development of their movements and is this yet another example of this incompetent Minister proving that she is out of her depth at cost to the taxpayer and New Zealand students alike? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: No I have no details about that particular case. If the member would refer these matters to my office prior to question time I could actually come down with an answer to a particular case. I note the fact that that was exactly the answer that was given to me when I was the Opposition spokesperson on immigration by the then Minister of Immigration when he was Deputy Prime Minister. 
Hon Mark Gosche 
: Does the Immigration Service have systems in place to address the backlash New Zealand experiences as a tourist and student destination when Asian media report about anti-Asian sentiment in New Zealand? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: The New Zealand Immigration Service has systems in place to identify trends and applications for visas both tourist visas and student visas and will continue to monitor the situation closely. New Zealand benefits significantly from international education and tourism from Asia and anyone who would put those industries at risk for the sake of a headline does not represent mainstream New Zealand opinion nor is he putting New Zealand first. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Was her original answer a plaintive plea for me to take over her job which I am sure I could do 1 hour a day and why is it wrong for a member of Parliament to ask why a man in Thailand is being paid by the New Zealand taxpayer when he does not study here does not live here has no intention of coming back here until January next year and all the records bank account numbers and air flight numbers are known to members of the community but never to her as the Minister of Immigration? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: When the member puts down a question as to whether I have confidence in the systems of the New Zealand Immigration Service and I am able to say “Generally speaking yes.” I expect the member to provide the information in advance of question time so that I can come down to the House with an answer. There are several cases but the vast majority of people who come to this country to live to work to study or to play are good decent hard-working people and they do not need to be attacked by that pathetic member. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I know that you often do not hear what happens down the back but when Mr Peters was asking his question the Hon Mr Cunliffe shouted out very loudly from his seat. I doubt you heard it. We certainly did. It was certainly off-putting and I suggest that he has not learnt his lesson from yesterday. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Well I did not hear it. I will be listening very closely. 
Rodney Hide 
: It is actually not necessary for you to hear a comment for a member to be put off his question. That is one of the things that happens from the cross-benches—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Rodney Hide 
: There they go again. You have one rule for us. I am on my last ruling but they can shout out. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Would the member who made that interjection leave the Chamber. 
Hon Chris Carter withdrew from the Chamber. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have ruled on the point of order that on this occasion I did not hear the interjection. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Is it the case that a person can sit on the cross-benches and interject on a questioner and it is OK as long as the Speaker does not hear it? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Let me put it this way. I try to hear a lot of what happens in the House. Occasionally on all sides of the House one deliberately does not hear everything because occasionally one wants to let the thing flow. I did not think that Mr Peters on this occasion was in any way put off from his question. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: You are quite right. I was not put off at all. I did not object because I understand that Mr Cunliffe suffers from a thing called recognition hunger and needs to be heard frequently. 
Hon Murray McCully 
: How does the Minister expect the public to have confidence in an Immigration Service that can circulate a memorandum asserting an agreement to “lie in unison” amongst 300 staff with none of them batting an eyelid and which then proceeds to have its most senior officers tell barefaced lies to the Ombudsman about the existence of that memo? 
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL 
: That member is perfectly well aware that there was no memorandum. It was a media log that was prepared on a daily basis. It has a number of such commentaries attached to it. They were throwaway lines. All of the rest of them have been throwaway lines. That member does not want to see any of the other media logs because it would prove the case that this particular one that he already had happened to substantiate a particular point of view that National wanted to raise. It is the most pathetic attack on public servants I have ever heard in this House.