Checks on entry rely on honesty

The Immigration Service has admitted its checks are not foolproof, after a convicted killer managed to get into New Zealand unchallenged.

Archie McCafferty, aged 53, was arrested in Kawerau on Friday night and deported at the weekend after failing to declare his criminal convictions when entering New Zealand.

The Scotsman had been jailed in Australia in 1973 for killing three people in what he said was a bid to resurrect his dead son. He was deported to Britain after his release in 1997.

Immigration spokesman Ian Smith said the service relied on people being honest when filling in their immigration cards on arrival.

"We can't screen every single person who comes into the country ...

"If we get information from other sources we would use that, but by-and-large the arrival card is the main method for screening most people coming into the country."

Penalties for lying on an arrival card have recently been beefed up and a seven-year maximum jail sentence can be imposed.

The changes to the Immigration Act were made after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who believes immigration criteria should be tighter, said the slip highlighted problems.

"That a triple murderer can walk freely through our screening processes, with a conviction and sentence of this nature ... speaks volumes and gives no comfort to those concerned about the entry criteria for offenders from other countries, where criminal records may not be so robust as Australia's."

It is understood McCafferty, wife Mandy Queen and their two children arrived unexpectedly at a relative's home in Kawerau.

It was not known how long they had been staying in the town or when he arrived in New Zealand.

McCafferty had lived most of his life in Australia and after his convictions spent 23 years in a New South Wales prison.

He claimed he committed the murders after dreaming that his dead 6-week-old son told him he would return from the grave if his father killed seven people.

McCafferty's crimes became known as the "Kill Seven Murders".

Australian police also alleged McCafferty was a member of the secret "murder squad" in Parramatta Jail that killed four inmates in 1981.

It was proved that McCafferty was present while one of the murders took place. He was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to a further 14 years' jail.

- NZPA