Video: National alleges 'cover up' in Thompson caseKEY POINTS:
The fall from grace of former Immigration Service boss Mary Anne Thompson continued today as questions swirled around qualifications she claimed when applying for top jobs in the country's public service.
Ms Thompson resigned her position as head of the Immigration Service yesterday amidst a scandal over preferential treatment given to residence applications from her relatives in Kiribati.
She helped them complete the forms and an inquiry discovered that immigration officials were instructed to override policy when dealing with them.
Ms Thompson was cleared of personal involvement.
The State Services Commission (SSC) is investigating Ms Thompson's involvement and has referred questions around her credentials arising from that to the police.
Labour ministers largely avoided commenting directly on the police investigation today, but Acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen confirmed the inquiry was linked to job applications in 1990, and 1998.
Ms Thompson, 53, was appointed chief economist at the Ministry for Maori Affairs in 1990, and joined the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, under Jenny Shipley, in 1998.
It has been widely reported Ms Thompson graduated with an MA in economic policy from Victoria University and a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Victoria University today confirmed a Maria Anna Thompson graduated with an MA from the university in 1980. NZPA is still waiting on a response from the LSE.
Ms Thompson spent several years in Kiribati in the 1980s, before returning to New Zealand in 1987, when she began work at the Institute of Economic Research.
She took the Department of Labour role she held until yesterday in 2004.
The Labour Department said last night Ms Thompson did not claim she had a doctorate when she was appointed to the position of deputy secretary - the title she held as head of the Immigration Service.
Today, questions in Parliament centred on how successive immigration ministers had failed to make public a conflict of interest case involving allegations of corruption dating from 2005.
National Party deputy leader Bill English said Ms Thompson's relatives were granted residence permits around the time Taito Phillip Field was obtaining "large numbers of discretionary approvals from the associate minister of immigration.
"Isn't it possible that the behaviour of ministers and MPs around immigration matters created an environment where officials felt they too could break the rules with impunity..." he asked.
Acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen dismissed the link between the two cases as "paranoid rubbish".
He said initial matters relating to Ms Thompson had been "employment matters," rightly dealt with by her chief executive.
The matters regarding her credentials had been referred to the police and he was unable to comment as they were the subject of a police inquiry.
He said the SSC report was making good progress but he was unable to say when it would be completed.
National Party immigration spokesman Lockwood Smith said only the immigration minister could grant permits to people who did not meet Government immigration policy requirements.
He asked why Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove had done nothing when he realised staff were usurping his role.
Mr Cosgrove said he was briefed on the situation when he was appointed minister in late 2007, and expressed his concern. He was told the matter had already been referred to the State Services Commissioner.
- NZPA
