Wife killer Colin Bouwer loses deportation bid

Colin Bouwer in 2001. Photo / Supplied

Convicted killer Colin Bouwer's bid to block his deportation from New Zealand has been quashed.

Bouwer applied to Associate Immigration Minister Craig Foss in August to intervene and cancel his deportation order on humanitarian grounds.

The former Dunedin psychiatrist, who is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife, Annette, in 2000 by administering a lethal cocktail of drugs intended to mimic the symptoms of a rare tumour, was made the subject of a deportation order in 2002. The order will mean he is returned to his native South Africa once paroled from prison.

Bouwer's lawyer, David More, received a letter late last week informing him the Minister would not act to cancel the deportation order.

"I'm not prepared to intervene in this case,'' the letter said.

More said it did not provide reasons for the Minister's decision.

A spokeswoman for Foss said the Minister would not be commenting on the matter without receiving a privacy waiver from Bouwer or his legal representative.

"Mr Bouwer is entitled to his privacy unless he waives that right,'' she said.

At a New Zealand Parole Board hearing in August, Bouwer asked for parole to be declined because of his health concerns.

The board heard Bouwer spent time in hospital, but the details and extent of the illness have not been disclosed.

More said Bouwer's health issues were physical and his mental faculties were not a concern.

Bouwer will appear before the parole board again next September.