Immigration service a 'shambles'

A minder for the Department of Labour's chief executive is necessary to sort out the "shambles and mess" at the immigration service, Prime Minister John Key says.

An Auditor-General's report released this month said the service, part of the Department of Labour, was focused on processing as many visas as possible without worrying about quality.

"This meant that staff who were under pressure to meet quantity targets had incentives to approve visas and permits, rather than decline them," the report said.

The report found problems were worse in the Pacific Division than elsewhere in the service.

The division was set up by the service's former boss Mary Anne Thompson in 2005, who resigned last year after accusations of a conflict of interest in helping overseas family members gain residency.

It was also alleged that she did not have a doctorate from the London School of Economics that many people believed she had when she applied for jobs earlier in her career.

Ms Thompson is facing court action on fraud and dishonesty charges.

Recently the service gained media attention for refusing permits to several pregnant women, at least one of whom was too sick to travel.

The service last week reviewed its decision on 29-year-old Lithuanian tourist Jurga Skiauteris, so she and her family were allowed to remain in New Zealand until the birth of her baby.

"This was a shambles and a mess left to us by the Labour Government," Mr Key said said on TVNZ's Breakfast programme.

"Immigration is part of the Department of Labour so it doesn't just have immigration to worry about it has ACC, it has employment law, it has a lot of different areas."

A person would be appointed to "ride shot-gun" and help change the immigration service, Mr Key said.

He was confident Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman could "sort it".

Dr Coleman told TV1's Q+A show that the Auditor-General's report was "very bad".

The problems meant some people may be in New Zealand who should not be and others with legitimate rights may have been turned away, he said.

The report's recommendations needed to be implemented, permanent senior management was needed to replace those in acting roles, the IT system needed an upgrade worth $117 million over four years and the entire process needed to be taken apart and looked at "from top to bottom".

The cost and risks of separating the immigration service out of the Department of Labour were too high, Dr Coleman said.

Two years was the "outside limit" for changes to be made and New Zealand to have "a superb immigration service".

- NZPA