Jones Dail: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Jones Dail: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:622;Page:17422] 
1. DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Is she confident that New Zealand law is sufficient to ensure our national security is protected; if not what action is she willing to take to rectify this situation? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 The Government has undertaken many initiatives including passing new laws to enhance national security particularly since September 11. In respect of the law governing certificates of security risk that law was passed in 1998 with a view to enhancing national security. I await the outcome of court processes to see whether the design of that legislation is sufficiently robust. 
Dail Jones 
: Will the Prime Minister as Minister in charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service act with urgency to ensure that the person Mr Zaoui whom the Security Intelligence Service regards as a national security risk is deported when that is found to be the case—as it was in several European nations—or is it the case that the Government has been wrong all along in its assessment of Ahmed Zaoui? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The Government as such has not determined that Mr Zaoui should be the subject of a certificate. That is a statutory decision made by the Director of Security. As I have said on many occasions I regard the protracted procedures around this matter as quite unsatisfactory and when the Zaoui case is complete there will certainly be a review of the law. 
Keith Locke 
: Does the Prime Minister not agree that in our country rather than the security risk certificate being a statutory decision of the Security Intelligence Service the SIS has no powers and it was the Minister who put the security risk certificate into effect on the advice of the Security Intelligence Service because our service has only an advisory role and that the Minister can lift that security risk certificate at any time so why does the Minister not do so? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: There were four questions there. Two may be answered. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I do not think the member is particularly conversant with Part 4A of the Immigration Act. The director on his own statutory authority issued the certificate. The Minister of Immigration made a preliminary decision to rely on it while processes relating to its review were put in place. The length of time around those processes is completely unsatisfactory and I would not think that was envisaged when the law was passed in 1998. That is why there must be a review when the matter is concluded. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Does the Prime Minister believe that Ahmed Zaoui is a risk to national security; yes or no? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: On no occasion have I offered an opinion on the substance of this case and I will not be doing so in the House today. 
Stephen Franks 
: If Mr Zaoui is being held to protect our national security why does the Prime Minister not call on our long tradition of cross-party unity on matters of national security to pass law now to fill the gap that the Supreme Court claims to have held; and if she does not is she simply putting the Supreme Court’s ambitions ahead of our national security? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As I have always said at the end of this case whenever it is concluded there will be a review and I look forward to the ACT party’s collaboration on that at that time. What is clear in the Zaoui case is that the Government has always acted on legal advice. The Supreme Court has invoked what it calls an inherent jurisdiction. The Government does not have an inherent jurisdiction—it can only administer the law as it is advised that it stands. 
Dail Jones 
: Why then if the Prime Minister is not satisfied that the law is sufficient are we in a situation where an issue of national security is being left up to a fledgling and largely untested final court of our judicial system to sort out when it is clear that as the Minister in charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service she should hold the ultimate responsibility for issues of national security and act before that final decision is made? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I do not think that would be a sensible procedure. I have long signalled that I do not believe that the processes around Part 4A work satisfactorily. They are taking far too long. It is also clear to me that we need as a Parliament to be much more specific and precise with legislation from this time forth. 
Peter Brown 
: Is it not a fact that the Government in order to divert media and public attention from the Zaoui case and its own disastrous handling of it is introducing the Civil Union Bill and pushing it through under urgency so that the media with some mishap will not notice that Zaoui is about to be released? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The only suggestion that would be funnier than that would be if Mr Zaoui were about to apply for a civil union. 
Peter Brown 
: In noting Rod Donald’s motion earlier on I seek leave to make a recommendation to the Minister of Finance that he buys Mr Zaoui a one-way ticket to anywhere he wants to go that it is non-returnable and for anybody who wants to take him— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought for that direction. Is there any objection? There is.