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The Immigration Service will face further scrutiny over assistance one of its bosses gave to relatives to get residency in New Zealand because of concerns of a more widespread problem in the department.
Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove yesterday asked the State Services Commission to widen its current review into residency applications by Kiribati family members of senior immigration boss Mary Anne Thompson that were approved against normal policies.
An independent report into the case found Ms Thompson had not sought to influence the outcome. An immigration official was disciplined after admitting to ordering staff to process the applications, despite being filed eight months after applications for the Kiribati quota had closed. In the report, former justice secretary David Oughton also raised concerns of a more widespread practice of staff being pushed into making decisions they felt were contrary to immigration policies.
The State Services Commission inquiry will look into the wider issues.
It will also examine how the Department of Labour, under which immigration falls, handled earlier help given by Ms Thompson to the same relatives to get visa waivers in late 2004 and early 2005.
Former labour secretary James Buwalda counselled her on that occasion because of the perception of conflict of interest. However, no further investigation took place.
Since the Oughton report was released, a former immigration worker who processed the applications had also spoken out on One News and said she was ordered to process the applications. Yesterday, Mr Cosgrove said the "allegations" that had emerged since the report was released prompted him to ask the State Services Commission to look into all aspects of the case.
National immigration spokesman Lockwood Smith said Mr Oughton's comments showed the need for a wider-ranging inquiry and had also left a number of questions that were unresolved.
Mr Smith has also called for State Services Commissioner Mark Prebble to stand aside from the investigation because of the possibility of a conflict of interest. Dr Prebble worked with Ms Thompson when the two were in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
A commission spokesman said Dr Prebble would delegate the investigation to his staff, but he would report it to ministers himself.
