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The Auditor-General will turn the blowtorch on Immigration after the Prime Minister said the Government's faith was "shattered" from being "constantly blindsided" by revelations coming out about the department.
Yesterday Prime Minister Helen Clark said she had requested an investigation by Auditor-General Kevin Brady after weeks of fallout from revelations that former Immigration head Mary Anne Thompson helped to get relatives into New Zealand.
Helen Clark said ministers had also not known about a 2005 inquiry by Buddle Findlay lawyer Peter Chemis into conflict-of-interest claims over the appointment of Mai Malaulau, who set up the Pacific division.
Ms Malaulau - appointed to head the division in 2005 on a $1000-a-day contract - was named as the official responsible for ordering Ms Thompson's relatives' residencies to be processed that same year.
The Buddle Findlay report cleared her of the conflict-of-interest claims, laid because of her former business links to the head of the Department of Labour's international division, Serupi Tavita.
Helen Clark said an investigation by the Auditor-General was the best way to put the minds of the public and Government at rest.
Fallout over the revelations includes a police probe into whether Ms Thompson doctored qualifications on her CV to get senior public service roles, a Department of Labour review into the Pacific division, and a State Services inquiry into the way the Labour Department handled the issues around help Ms Thompson gave her family members to get visa waivers and then residency in New Zealand.
Announcing the new investigation, Helen Clark launched an astonishing broadside against the public service bosses, suggesting they had fallen short of their responsibilities to keep ministers briefed according to the "no surprises" policy which ensured ministers were told about issues likely to be controversial.
She said she was surprised to learn former State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham had known of the doubts about Ms Thompson's qualifications in 2004.
"I've been put in a position ... as Prime Minister of having someone as acting head of my department who is now the subject of a police investigation with respect to integrity issues. This just isn't satisfactory."
Helen Clark said Ms Thompson's claims to have a PhD upon first entering the public service had led to the civil servant "sailing through a career in the public service on a basis of trust which wasn't justified".
Helen Clark said former Immigration Minister David Cunliffe and current minister Clayton Cosgrove were also not briefed in full about the wider findings of the Oughton Report, which investigated the New Zealand residency visas given to Ms Thompson's family.
"It's fair to say the confidence of the Cabinet has been somewhat shattered," she said. "There are things that obviously have never come to our attention."
The Prime Minister said the three other inquiries were not sufficient for the public or the Government. The Auditor-General was independent and had strong powers, including the ability to require documents and information to be handed over, and for evidence to be given under oath.
Yesterday National's immigration spokesman, Lockwood Smith, said the Auditor-General's inquiry had to include ministerial involvement. "David Cunliffe and Clayton Cosgrove were briefed but did nothing."
But Helen Clark said she was satisfied her ministers had acted appropriately on the information they were given.
She said the Auditor-General would get a wide brief but would set his own terms of reference.
