Government 'complacent' on border security, says National

Murray McCully

New Zealanders cannot take comfort from Government assurances over the deportation of Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali, the National Party says.

Ali, who has links with one of the September 11 hijackers, was arrested in Palmerston North in late May and immediately deported.

After arriving in New Zealand on a student visa in February, ostensibly to study English, he investigated Auckland flying schools and flew with the Manawatu Aero Club.

Yesterday National's Foreign Affairs spokesman, Murray McCully, questioned whether a complacent Government attitude to border security had enabled Ali to spend four months in New Zealand.

"I don't think any of us can be very reassured," Mr McCully told the Herald.

"I asked the Prime Minister the obvious question today, namely was this guy's name on a list and did they miss him, or was he not on any list at all?

"We didn't get a straight answer to that, and there isn't any reason why we can't have a straight answer to that without compromising our security arrangements. I think New Zealanders have got a lot of reasons to be pretty apprehensive about all of this."

The Herald revealed yesterday that the Ardmore Flying School contacted the Immigration Department in April after Ali tried to enrol there.

Prime Minister Helen Clark and Immigration Minister David Cunliffe have acknowledged the Saudi citizen got into the country by adding the name Ali to his travel documents.

Helen Clark yesterday told Parliament people should be confident that Ali was detected and deported, and on Monday said reported theories on why he was here and the activities of intelligence agencies monitoring him were speculation which could not be substantiated.

"I know around these sorts of issues you always have conspiracy theorists and wild concoctions and theories, but they seldom have any justification."

In Parliament yesterday, Mr McCully asked the Prime Minister why she had not used the Terrorism Suppression Act to designate any individuals or organisations as terrorists.

Australia had used similar powers to identify 88 people over and above the United Nations terror watch list, and Canada more than 50, Mr McCully said.

"That is a matter for those Governments, acting on advice," Helen Clark said. "I will act on advice if I receive it, but I'm not going to designate at whim."

She said deporting Ali was the obvious thing to have happened after his true identity had been revealed.

"Personally I consider it a no-brainer that someone who has been a room-mate of a 9/11 terrorist and is having pilot training is here for no particularly good purpose."