Prasad Rajen: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePrasad Rajen: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 20 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:16193. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.Dr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour) to theMinister of Immigration: Does he stand by all the statements he made in his answers to Oral Question No 11 on 13 February 2014?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (Minister of Immigration): Yes I do with one qualification on the point about whether the individuals referred to were unlawful at the time of the alleged fraud. The timing of the alleged fraud is a matter of conjecture but I can confirm that they were unlawful at the time of their first approach to Immigration New Zealand.Dr Rajen Prasad: Does the following statement contained in letters from Immigration New Zealand dated 20 and 23 January to the students referred to in oral question No. 11 last Thursday amount to a threat of deportation: “If you do not leave New Zealand voluntarily you will be liable for deportation.”; if it does will the Minister accept that his challenge to me to verify my statement has been satisfied?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: No I do not. It is simply a matter of fact that individuals who are here without a valid visa are unlawful and are liable for deportation. That is a simple fact that does not in and of itself constitute a threat to deport.Dr Rajen Prasad: I seek leave to table the two letters that I referred to from Immigration New Zealand to the Minister—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is all that is required. Leave is sought to table two letters from Immigration New Zealand to the Minister. Is there any objection to those two letters being tabled? No. They can be so tabled.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.Dr Rajen Prasad: Given his comments in his answers to oral question 11 last Thursday that “my instructions to officials is that people who speak up do so without fear of being disadvantaged in the way that the member describes.”—that is without being threatened with deportation—and that the Immigration New Zealand threats of deportation represent a breach of his instructions how will he strengthen his instructions to ensure that these breaches do not occur?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I do not think it is difficult to reconcile those two statements. If somebody is already unlawful simply speaking up about an allegation does not give them a free pass. However I will say this about the case being referred to by the member: it is a very good opportunity I think to test the fairness of the instructions I have given Immigration New Zealand and I am doing that.Dr Rajen Prasad: Given the Minister’s statement that it is a simple matter for people who have been the victims of fraud involving false job offers and job selling to call the 0508 558 885 number or the Crimestoppers line why is it that of the 75000 inquiries received last year—the Minister’s own figures—only 52 cases of fraud were investigated; and in the last 2 years the number of investigations fell by almost half compared with the previous 2 years?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Firstly the number I quoted on 13 February was I think 750000 not 75000. I think the measure of the success of the policies that have been put in place is not necessarily the number of investigations. Often the policies remove the situations that could give rise to them. But I do note and reiterate that the number of successful prosecutions has gone up by between 400 percent and 500 percent over the time of this Government.