Archives
1999
27 December 1999 Former hunger striker granted refugee status
24 December 1999 Deported man sent back to New Zealand
24 December 1999 Female refugee claimant released on bail
23 December 1999 Minister of Immigration reviews detention of female refugee claimant from Ghana
16 December 1999 New Minister of Immigration to review proposed HIV-Aids testing
15 December 1999 Man refused refugee status deported
14 December 1999 Man refused refugee status fails to obtain stay of deportation order
9 December 1999 Procedures to deport speeded up
7 December 1999 Delay in deporting man refused refugee status
5 December 1999 Refugee processing backlog
4 December 1999 Refugee claimant discloses details of his case
3 December 1999 Immigration Service granted stay of High Court decision
2 December 1999 Female refugee claimant from Ghana still detained in prison
2 December 1999 Hunger strikers freed
1 December 1999 Immigration Service to appeal against High Court decision
30 November 1999 High Court orders Immigration Service to reconsider decision to decline issue of permits to hunger strikers
29 November 1999 Former Minister of Immigration loses seat in general election
27 November 1999 Some Auckland City councilors support hunger strikers
25 November 1999 Minister of Immigration sacked
24 November 1999 High Court reserves decision
23 November 1999 Minister of Immigration visits hunger strikers
20 November 1999 Judge orders lawyers to do homework
18 November 1999 Minister of Immigration queries motives of lawyers representing asylum seekers
18 November 1999 Hunger strikers remain in custody
17 November 1999 Hunger striker tells of bid to kill
16 November 1999 Refugee claimant abandons hunger strike
15 November 1999 Hunger strikers weakening
11 November 1999 More hunger strikers remain in custody
11 November 1999 Minister of Immigration criticizes government officials
10 November 1999 Refugees face Aids testing
9 November 1999 Refugee claimant resumes hunger strike
8 November 1999 UNHCR advises hunger strikers to end hunger strike
7 November 1999 Amnesty International critical of NZ Government over detention of asylum seekers
4 November 1999 Hunger strikers remain in custody
3 November 1999 Tuberculosis rising sharply among immigrants and overseas visitors to New Zealand
2 November 1999 Refugee claims by hunger strikers possibly prejudiced
29 October 1999 Refugee Status Appeals Authority publishes important decision on the internal protection alternative (sometimes known as "relocation" or "internal flight alternative")
29 October 1999 Refugee Status Appeals Authority publishes important decision on refugee claims by Chinese Indonesians
29 October 1999 Firm of immigration consultants placed in liquidation
29 October 1999 Immigration Service facilities in New Delhi to be upgraded
29 October 1999 Hunger strike by 18 refugee claimants held in custody
20 October 1999 Minister of Immigration accuses officials of obstruction over AIDS testing
11 October 1999 East Timorese will not come to New Zealand
7 October 1999 East Timorese may not be brought to New Zealand
7 October 1999 Refugee centre at least safe
6 October 1999 Refugee centre said to be an embarrassment
6 October 1999 East Timorese may be made stateless
5 October 1999 Plan to house East Timorese surprises Hamilton
2 October 1999 200 East Timorese to be housed in Hamilton
2 October 1999 Kosovo refugees encounter frustration
1 October 1999 New practice note for Refugee Status Appeals Authority
1 October 1999 Refugees from East Timor to be given limited purpose permits only
1 October 1999 Immigration Amendment Act 1999 comes into force
30 September 1999 New Zealand offers to take refugees from East Timor
29 September 1999 New Zealand to consider taking refugees from East Timor
27 September 1999 Refugee Status Appeals Authority publishes important decision addressing civil war issues
21 September 1999 Minister of Immigration provides refugee statistics
14 September 1999 Members of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority appointed
7 September 1999 Refugee claimants held in custody on security grounds
1 September 1999 Extradition Act 1999 comes into force
26 August 1999 Refugee groups shun "isolated" Waitakere
19 August 1999 Refugee hostel seeks further funds
18 August 1999 Government knew Chinese boat people not heading for New Zealand
5 August 1999 Habeas Corpus application fails
5 August 1999 Attempt to trace family members of Kosovo refugees
3 August 1999 Threat of boat people fades into oblivion
26 July 1999 NZIS Operational Manual released on Internet
10 July 1999 Fourth group of Kosovo refugees arrives in New Zealand
8 July 1999 Chinese boat people not found
16 June 1999 Urgent legislation passed
16 June 1999 Members of Deportation Review Tribunal not to be reappointed
15 June 1999 Urgent legislation introduced to deal with Chinese boat people
14 June 1999 Further progress on Kosovo Albanian refugees
11 June 1999 NATO-Serb peace deal will not affect entry of Kosovar families into New Zealand
10 June 1999 Migrant Centre short of funds
1 June 1999 Government approves immigration survey
22 May 1999 Fifty Kosovo refugees arrive in New Zealand
20 May 1999 First Kosovo refugees to arrive in New Zealand
18 May 1999 NZIS team identifies 51 refugees for NZ in Macedonia
10 May 1999 Immigration officers leave for Macedonia
5 May 1999 Immigration team prepares to leave for Macedonia
4 May 1999 Departure for Macedonia delayed
26 April 1999 Progress on Kosovo Albanian refugees
22 April 1999 Immigration Service staff seek details
17-18 April 1999 Auckland City provides funding to Refugee Hostel
15 April 1999 Replies to proposal that refugees be tested for HIV virus
14 April 1999 Immigration Service works fast on Kosovo refugee offer
14 April 1999 Minister of Immigration proposes that refugees and migrants with HIV virus be banned from New Zealand
14 April 1999 Wait for asylum by Afghanis
13 April 1999 Afghanis detained
13 April 1999 NZ will not offer large-scale temporary accommodation to Kosovo refugees
7 April 1999 New Zealand offers to take refugees from Kosovo
1 April 1999 Assent given to Immigration Amendment Act 1999
30 March 1999 Immigration Amendment Act 1999 enacted by Parliament
27 March 1999 Refugee Council of New Zealand First Annual General Meeting
25 March 1999 Judgment in R v Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Ex parte Shah (HL)
15 March 1999 Emergency Hostel for Asylum Seekers May Have to Close
4 March 1999 Immigration Amendment Bill Reported Back by Social Services Committee
1 March 1999 New Practice Note for Refugee Status Appeals Authority
22 February 1999 Refugee Law Questioned
18 January 1999 Refugee Council of New Zealand to be Formed
2-3
January 1999 Afghanis Seek Asylum
27 December 1999 A refugee claimant detained just before the APEC conference and who was refused refugee status by the Immigration Service has now been recognized as a refugee by the Refugee Status Appeals Authority. Lawyers representing the man say that his case highlights the dangers of the Immigration Service fast-tracking refugee decisions when it does not have enough information.
[Warren Gamble, "Indian wins
refugee appeal", NZ Herald, Monday, December 27, 1999,
p A6]
24 December 1999 A man from Tajikistan deported from New Zealand after being refused refugee status has been returned to New Zealand. While changing aircraft in Germany on his way to Moscow (and then Tajikistan), the man made a claim for refugee status. When he withdrew that claim, the German immigration officials sent him to Singapore. It is reported that New Zealand authorities intercepted him there and escorted him to Moscow. However, Russian border authorities refused him admission and sent him back to New Zealand. A New Zealand Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that although the man's return to Tajikistan had been arranged before he left Auckland, he had complicated matters when he tried to convince Russian officials that he was an Irish citizen. As the authorities were unsure about his true identity, they refused to allow him to travel on to Tajikistan. He will now be held in custody in Auckland while the New Zealand Immigration Service makes new plans to deport him.
[Bronwyn Sell, "Deported visitor bounces back", NZ Herald, Friday, December 24, 1999, p A3]
24 December 1999 A female refugee claimant from Ghana has been released on bail following the intervention of the Minister of Immigration.
["Christmas freedom", NZ Herald, Friday, December 24, 1999, page A3; Tony Wall, "She's out and laughing", Weekend Herald, Sunday, December 26, 1999 p A4]
23 December 1999 The Minister of Immigration, Lianne Dalziel, is reported as saying that immigration officials are working on a solution to the continued detention in Mt Eden Prison of a female refugee claimant from Ghana. This follows a bail application to the High Court, Auckland on 22 December 1999. Potter J has reserved her decision and it is not known whether judgment will be given before or after Christmas. It is also reported that Auckland Mayor, Christine Fletcher, has visited the woman in jail and is sympathetic to her circumstances.
[Catherine Masters, "Dalziel working on woman's case", NZ Herald, Thursday, December 23, 1999; "Plea for prisoner", NZ Herald, Wednesday, December 22, 1999 p A3]
16 December 1999 The New Minister of Immigration, Lianne Dalziel, will review the proposed HIV-Aids testing of migrants before deciding on the fate of the controversial policy introduced by the previous Minister of Immigration. That policy is planned to take effect in July 2000. The Minister is reported as saying that the issue was not one of risk to public health, but of the high cost of HIV treatment. She is also reported as saying that she will review the whole area of how refugees and asylum seekers are treated, including law amendments in October 1999 that sped up removal procedures. She will also look at the jailing of asylum seekers while their status is determined. She acknowledged that in her new role she faced difficult decisions affecting the lives of people, but she planned to encourage processes in the Immigration Service that lessened the requirement for her ministerial discretion.
[Warren Gamble, "Aids test for immigrants re-examined", NZ Herald, Thursday, December 16, 1999, p A7]
15 December 1999 On Tuesday, 14 December 1999 a man from Tajikistan was deported. He was placed on a flight to Singapore with a police escort after being taken into custody by police. An Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that the estimated cost to the New Zealand government was $25,000 comprising airfares to Tajikistan via Singapore and Moscow for the man and his escort, the cost of processing the claim to refugee status and the welfare benefits he was paid while waiting for the outcome of his application. A further attempt by the man to delay his departure was made after he tried to inject air into his veins. However an independent assessment found that the man was in good health and the deportation went ahead.
[Josie Clarke, "'Refugee'
sent packing", NZ Herald, Wednesday, December 15, 1999,
p A9]
14 December 1999 The man from Tajikistan who has been refused refugee status has been unsuccessful in obtaining a stay of the deportation order. His application was declined by Morris J in the High Court, Auckland on 13 December 1999. Although the man was scheduled to leave New Zealand for Tajikistan via Moscow on Tuesday, December 14, 1999 at 2.15pm, he made a suicide attempt as he had decided that he wished to stay in New Zealand.
[Josie Clarke, "Overstayer: better dead here than alive at home", NZ Herald, Tuesday, December 14, 1999, p A9]
9 December 1999 Procedures to deport a man to Tajikistan have been assisted by a decision by the Russian authorities to issue the man with travel documents. However, the Immigration Service has yet to ensure that the documents will be accepted by Tajikistan. In the meantime, after the man's plight was featured in the NZ Herald, offers of accommodation and financial help have poured in.
[Josie Clarke, "Christmas looks cold for migrant", NZ Herald, Thursday, December 9, 1999, p A3]
7 December 1999 A man from Tajikistan who has been refused refugee status is sleeping on the streets of Auckland while he waits for the Immigration Service to deport him. The application for refugee status was declined in July 1999 and his work permit subsequently cancelled. In November his social welfare benefit was also cancelled on the grounds that he no longer had a work permit. For the past three weeks he has been sleeping under the Queen Street building in which the Immigration Service is housed and is living on food handouts from the Methodist Mission and the City Mission while he waits to be sent home. He has outstayed his three month limit at the Grove Hostel for refugees and has no money to pay the $10 charge to stay at night shelters. He is also doing periodic detention every Friday by order of the Otahuhu District Court for arriving in New Zealand on a false passport. An Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that the Service was trying to arrange a passport and travel documents for the man, including a transit visa for him to pass through Russia. The delay was beyond the control of the Immigration Service.
[Josie Clarke, "Deportee left to sleep on the street", NZ Herald, Tuesday, December 7, 1999, p A3]
5 December 1999 Marie Sullivan of the Refugee Status Branch of the Immigration Service is reported as saying that refugee claimants can expect to wait between nine months and two years before their cases are decided. It is also reported that about 90% of refugee claimants have their applications declined. Around 450 a year are allowed to stay in addition to 700 refugees accepted by New Zealand under the quota system. It is further reported that the Immigration Service is moving on plans to build a low-security detention centre for refugee claimants refused a permit. The Service is declining to reveal where the centre will be built because of fears of a public backlash from residents. Resource consent for the building has yet to be applied for. Of 650 persons to claim refugee status in New Zealand since March 1998, 80 or around 12% have been imprisoned.
[Patrick Smellie, "Refugees left in limbo", Sunday Star-Times, December 5, 1999, p A6; Patrick Smellie, "Asylum-seekers given tough time", Sunday Star-Times, December 5, 1999 p A6]
4 December 1999 A refugee claimant released from Mt Eden Prison has given details of his case in a press interview.
[Josie Clarke, "Jail spell dashes hopes of haven", Weekend Herald, December 4-5, 1999, p A6]
3 December 1999 The High Court at Auckland has granted an application by the Immigration Service for a stay of the order requiring the Immigration Service to reconsider its decision not to grant temporary permits to 16 refugee claimants. The application to the High Court followed the lodging by the Immigration Service of an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of Fisher J delivered on 30 November 1999. However, Fisher J has reserved leave for the refugee claimants to apply either to the High Court or to the Court of Appeal to set aside the stay if it prevents them receiving income support. Refugee claimants cannot work or receive income unless they have a temporary permit. It is reported that a Court of Appeal hearing is not likely to be held until February 2000.
[Josie Clarke, "Fresh asylum delay ", NZ Herald, Friday, December 3, 1999, p A9]
2 December 1999 A Ghanaian woman who has sought refugee status in New Zealand on the ground that she fears female genital mutilation remains in custody, having been refused bail by the Otahuhu District Court. Her appeal to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority will be heard next week.
[Tony Wall , "Asylum seeker's bid for freedom rejected", NZ Herald, Thursday, December 2, 1999, p A4]
2 December 1999 The refugee claimants who have been on hunger strike in Mt Eden Prison have been released on bail by the Otahuhu District Court. As a condition of bail the men are required to live at a specified address, report to police three times a week, to pursue their refugee claim with "due diligence" and surrender themselves when the Court of Appeal gives judgment on their case. The men have also been given interim name suppression. The Immigration Service has filed in the High Court, Auckland an application for a stay of the judgment given by Fisher J. The Immigration Service will not issue permits to the men unless the Court of Appeal upholds the decision of the High Court.
[Josie Clarke, "'We were held like animals'", NZ Herald, Thursday, December 2, 1999, p A3]
1 December 1999 The caretaker Minister of Immigration, Mr Creech has announced that the Immigration Service will urgently appeal the decision given by Fisher J in the High Court, Auckland. The Minister is reported as saying that the decision has the potential to expose New Zealand to a wave of illegal immigrants. Alliance MP, Matt Robson, is reported as saying that the new Government did not agree with that view, although it had no problems with the Court of Appeal clarifying the legislation.
[Darrel Mager & Josie Clark, "Creech slams asylum ruling", NZ Herald, Wednesday, December 1, 1999, p A3]
30 November 1999 In a reserved judgment delivered today in the High Court Auckland, Fisher J has set aside the decision of the Immigration Service not to grant temporary permits to the refugee claimants presently held in Mt Eden Prison. The Court directed a reconsideration of the applications. That reconsideration is to be undertaken on the basis that refugee claimants are to be granted temporary permits in the absence of special factors making detention necessary.
[Josie Clarke, "Hunger-strike refugees win round in court", NZ Herald, Tuesday, November 30, 1999, front page]
29 November 1999 The former Minister of Immigration, Mr Delamere, has lost his seat in the general election held on 27 November 1999. He plans to use his experience as an Immigration Consultant.
["No seats for those who switched", NZ Herald, Monday, November 29, 1999, p A7; "Henare eyes TV show for Maori", NZ Herald, Tuesday, November 30, 1999, p A4]
27 November 1999 Thirteen Auckland City councillors have signed an open letter to acting Immigration Minister, Wyatt Creech, urging the Immigration Service to let refugee hostels to care for the men who are on hunger strike in Mt Eden Prison. Mr Creech has replied that the men are illegal immigrants without visas and could be detained while the Immigration Service investigated their claims.
["Hunger-strikes support", Weekend Herald, November 27-28, 1999, p A7]
25 November 1999 The Prime Minister, Mrs Jenny Shipley, has dismissed the Minister of Immigration, Mr Delamere, over special treatment he gave to Chinese investors prepared to put money into Maori projects.
[Audrey Young, "Shipley wields the axe", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 25, 1999, front page; Tony Wall, "Minister's way: head over heels into strife", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 25, 1999, p A7; Naomi Larkin, "'Pleased and proud' to offer residency deals", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 25, 1999, p A7]
24 November 1999 In the High Court at Auckland Fisher J has reserved judgment on the question whether the decision of the Immigration Service to decline permits to the hunger strikes was legally valid.
[Keith Perry, "No relief yet for empty stomachs", NZ Herald, Wednesday, November 24, 1999, p A9]
23
November 1999 The Minister of Immigration, Mr Delamere, has paid
a private visit to Mt Eden Prison to check on the condition of the hunger
strikers who have sought refugee status. He did not speak to the
prisoners during the unannounced visit. Afterwards he said that he
wanted to see the men for himself before responding to reports about their
condition. The visit came on the 26th day of the hunger strike.
The High Court hearing continued on Monday, 22 November 1999.
[Josie Clarke, "Minister
checks asylum seekers", NZ Herald, Tuesday, November 23, 1999, p
A3]
20 November 1999 In the High Court at Auckland, Fisher J has told three lawyers acting for asylum seekers on a hunger strike to prepare a stronger case over the weekend before returning on Monday. The asylum seekers are arguing that they had a legitimate expectation that they would receive permits under guidelines published by the Immigration Service. The Judge is reported to have commented that the arguments lacked a strong framework and told the lawyers to do their homework over the weekend.
[Scott MacLeod, "Judge orders homework", Weekend Herald, November 20-21, 1999, p A7]
18 November 1999 The Minister of Immigration, Hon Tuariki Delamere, has questioned the motives behind the claims made in the media by two of the asylum seekers currently fasting in Mt Eden Prison. He has also said that he is disappointed, but not surprised that the men and their lawyers had decided to go public, rather than have their claims heard through the normal legal process. He added that the Immigration Service had made every effort to decide the claims of all 16 men currently being held in Mt Eden Prison as quickly as possible, and to let them take their cases to the independent appeal tribunal. However, the claimants, with the support of their lawyers, had frustrated and obstructed this process at every step.
[Hon Tuariki Delamere, "Immigration Minister queries asylum seekers' and lawyers' motives", Media Statement, Thursday, November 18, 1999]
18 November 1999 Eight hunger strikers were further remanded in custody when they appeared yesterday in the Otahuhu District Court.
[Josie Clarke, "Hunger strikers back in jail", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 18, 1999, p A3]
17 November 1999 One of the asylum seekers being held at Mt Eden Prison says he watched his brother-in-law shot by Indian police in an ambush meant for him. The man is in the third week of a hunger strike. Another, a Pakistani, said he was kept in a police cell for 22 days and tortured, then left for dead in a river.
[Warren Gamble, "Hunger striker tells of bid to kill him", NZ Herald, Wednesday, November 17, 1999, p A3]
16 November 1999 A refugee claimant from Iran presently held in custody at Mt Eden Prison has abandoned his hunger strike. He will appear before the Refugee Status Appeals Authority today, but his lawyers will seek an adjournment. The remaining 15 refugee claimants on hunger strike continue to fast.
["Iranian man takes food", NZ Herald, Tuesday, November 16, 1999, p A3]
15 November 1999 The refugee claimants currently on hunger strike in Mt Eden Prison have now not eaten for 16 days and are weakening. They are said to be passing blood. A dietitian is reported as saying that passing blood was one sign of kidney failure.
[Scott Kara, "Jailed men 'pass blood'", NZ Herald, Monday, November 15, 1999, p A7]
11 November 1999 When four of the sixteen asylum seekers on hunger strike at Mt Eden Prison appeared in the Otahuhu District Court yesterday they were further remanded in custody by Mary-Elizabeth Sharp DCJ who is reported as saying that there was a legal precedent for keeping asylum seekers in custody and any challenge would have to be taken to the High Court. Initially the men opposed their further remand in custody but withdrew their opposition after speaking to their lawyer who told the Court that the men neither consented to nor opposed the application by the Immigration Service to keep them in custody.
[Simon Hendery, "Immigrants fail in plea for freedom", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 11, 1999, p A8]
11 November 1999 The Minister of Immigration, Hon Tuariki Delamere, has criticized his own advisers and other critics of the Government's new HIV-Aids policy for immigrants. The Minister is reported as describing those critical of the policy as "PCs and greenies" and criticized government advisers for not sticking to their initial staunch opposition. Public health medicine specialist Dr Lester Calder is reported as saying that the $1m to $2m a year spent on refugees with Aids was a tiny portion of the health budget, and testing would only stigmatize the disease. Labour's immigration spokeswoman, Lianne Dalziel, is reported as saying that while her party accepted that the issue of HIV-Aids testing needed to be addressed, it was not satisfied the appropriate policy work had been carried out.
[Nick Perry, "Minister lashes 'gutless' advisers", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 11, 1999, p A3]
10 November 1999 The Government yesterday announced that anyone wishing to enter New Zealand for more than two years from July 2000 will have to pass a HIV-Aids test. A mandatory overseas test will be introduced for all refugees, immigrants and anyone wanting to study or work in New Zealand for longer than two years. The Minister of Immigration is reported as saying that anyone who failed the test would be barred entry, although the Minister could make exceptions in some circumstances. The policy includes refugees recommended under the UNHCR quota programme. The Minister confirmed that Cabinet had approved the move despite virtually unanimous opposition from government officials and departments. The Ministries of Health, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Justice and Social Policy and the Departments of Internal Affairs and Labour are reported as saying that mandatory testing was discriminatory and unnecessary. At present refugees are asked to take a voluntary test for HIV-Aids and none has yet refused. The Minister is reported as saying that he sympathized with people who had HIV-Aids, but New Zealand could not afford to take on the world's problems. It cost about NZ$25,000 a year to treat people with HIV, he said, and once they developed full blown Aids "the sky is the limit". Last year, 105 people were identified in New Zealand as HIV positive. Of those, 43 were refugees. Aids and refugee groups immediately condemned the policy, saying New Zealand should be more humanitarian and that the only way to protect New Zealanders' health was to promote safe sex.
[NZPA, "Refugees face Aids testing", NZ Herald, Wednesday, November 10, 1999, front page; Hon Tuariki Delamere, Rt Hon Wyatt Creech & Hon Lockwood Smith, "Cabinet approves new health testing for migrants", Media Statement, Tuesday, November 9, 1999]
9 November 1999 A refugee claimant who broke his hunger strike in Mt Eden Prison at the weekend resumed his fast yesterday. Sixteen men from India, Pakistan and Iran have refused food for 12 days in protest at being kept in custody while their refugee status is determined.
["Prison fast resumes", NZ Herald, Tuesday, November 9, 1999, p A3]
8 November 1999 At the request of the Minister of Immigration, the Liaison Officer for New Zealand representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has visited Mt Eden Prison and spoken to the refugee claimants who are on hunger strike. The Liaison Officer, Mr Hans ten Feld is reported as saying that during his visit he told the refugee claimants they should give up the hunger strike and concentrate on fighting against their imprisonment and to pursue their applications for refugee status through the courts. He said that although the UNHCR did not agree with the use of detention for refugee claimants, New Zealand's immigration laws provided for that possibility. Because there are procedures in place, including the right to challenge in court decisions made by officials, the UNHCR did not support the hunger strike. The UNHCR sympathized, but did not believe it should be used as a means for airing the men's grievances. It is also reported that an asylum seeker who has been on a hunger strike for ten days called off his fast on Sunday, November 7, 1999, the day after the visit of Mr Hans ten Feld. An Amnesty International Refugee co-ordinator is reported as saying that the hunger strikers were getting much weaker and one man, who claims to have been tortured by Indian police before he fled the country, was too ill to meet him when he visited the jail on Friday. Amnesty International did not support hunger strikes but believed the men should not be held in custody while their refugee cases were being decided.
[Francesca Mold, "Detainee calls off hunger strike", NZ Herald, Monday, November 8, 1999, p A3]
7 November 1999 The London headquarters of Amnesty International has criticized the New Zealand Government over the detention of asylum seekers in Mt Eden Prison. The Secretary General of Amnesty International has written to the Minister of Immigration saying international standards were that asylum seekers should be detained only on exceptional grounds. It is reported that the Minister has replied that the hunger strikers have either refused to be interviewed or have told complete fabrications on various aspects. He said there had been no change of policy to detain asylum seekers. Judgments were made at the border, and officials' suspicions were heightened if claimants had destroyed documents. Tighter security during Apec had resulted in more detentions, particularly if people's identity could not be established. An Auckland representative of Amnesty International is reported as saying that it appeared that the policy was to keep people in jail as a deterrent to those coming here without genuine claims to refugee status. He said that a recent legislation change had also put the onus on asylum seekers to satisfy a judge they would not abscond. He had been involved with 200 people seeking refugee status in recent years, and none had jumped bail. A lawyer acting for several of the hunger strikers said that he was appalled at the citing by the New Zealand Immigration Service of an international convention that airlines might have to repatriate the men. But an Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that the convention allowed people to be sent home using international civil aviation documents, instead of often difficult-to-obtain identity documents from their homeland. In a decision extending three of the men's warrants of detention this week, Otahuhu District Court Judge Lindsay Moore is reported as saying that against their likely use of "all sorts of scams and trickery" to get to New Zealand, the men must see jumping bail as trivial.
[Warren Gamble, "Amnesty
HQ wades in on hunger strike", Weekend Herald, November 6-7, 1999
p A7; Amnesty International, "New Zealand: Amnesty International Headquarters
raises concerns about asylum seekers with government", AI Index: ASA 32/01/99,
4 November 1999]
4 November 1999 Five refugee claimants presently on hunger strike have failed to persuade the Auckland District Court to release them from custody while their refugee claims are processed. Some of the 18 people on hunger strike were sent to Auckland Prison for x-rays to check their condition, but a prison spokesman is reported as saying that there were no fears for their health at this stage. A spokesman for Amnesty International is reported as saying that several were already experiencing painful symptoms.
["Asylum Setback", NZ Herald, Thursday, November 4, 1999 p A3]
3 November 1999 According to a recent medical study, tuberculosis is rising sharply among immigrants and overseas visitors to New Zealand. About 350 new cases of tuberculosis are reported to authorities annually in New Zealand. In 1997, more than two thirds involved foreign-born people, up from half in 1993. The New Zealand tuberculosis rate of 9.1 cases per 100,000 people is higher than Australia's 5.9, but is low compared with the rate in many Pacific and Asian countries, such as Samoa (21.3) and the Philippines (400.6). In New Zealand the European rate is 2.7 per 100,000, Maori 10.5, Pacific Islanders 27.1 and "others" (mainly Asians and Africans) 82.1. It is suggested that since some immigrants develop the disease soon after arrival, they may be relying on fraudulent medical documents. The report recommends that overseas doctors checking potential immigrants be appointed by New Zealand health officials rather than by officials of overseas countries. The report further recommends that asylum seekers be given mandatory health checks promptly and that visitors and overseas students from high-risk countries should be screened for tuberculosis at their own expenses after six months here. At present all visitors and students are required to be screened after two years. Dr Nagalingam Rasalingam is reported as saying that as the asylum seekers' clinic at Greenlane Hospital could accommodate only 400 patients a year, around 800 annually were in limbo without being screened while their refugee status applications were processed.
[Martin Johnston, "TB thrives under lax control rules", NZ Herald, Wednesday, November 3, 1999, p A3]
2 November 1999 It is reported that immigration authorities say they will turn down the refugee claims of 18 hunger-strikers in Mt Eden Prison if they refuse to be interviewed. However, human-rights activists and a lawyer representing 10 of the men say the refugee claimants are too ill to be able to put their case fairly. The Minister of Immigration is reported as saying that the medical officer at the prison had found no medical reason to prevent the men being interviewed. Their lack of co-operation was more of a "psycho-social" nature than anything to do with their health. The Minister said that if the men continued refusing to be interviewed their refugee status claims would be declined. However, a doctor specialising in refugee health, Dr Rasalingam is reported as saying that he had seen three of the refugee claimants. One had physical evidence of torture and all three men spoke of recurring nightmares about their persecution. He also said that the admission of psycho-social problems itself backed the mens' claims.
[Warren Gamble, "Silence threatens asylum seekers' case", NZ Herald, Tuesday, 2 November 1999, p A4; Hon Tuariki Delamere, "Asylum seekers refusing to co-operate", Media Statement, Monday, November 1, 1999]
29 October 1999 The Refugee Status Appeals Authority, in dismissing an appeal by an Indian national of the Sikh faith born in the Punjab, has re-visited its jurisprudence on what has hitherto been known in New Zealand as the "relocation" issue and in other countries as the "internal flight alternative". The reassessment of the jurisprudence follows in the wake of the decision of the New Zealand Court of Appeal in Butler v Attorney-General [1999] NZAR 205 (CA). Prior to Butler, the Authority had seen the issue of relocation turning on two issues. First, can the refugee claimant genuinely access domestic protection which is meaningful? Second, is it reasonable, in all the circumstances, to expect the refugee claimant to relocate elsewhere in the country of nationality?. However, in view of the adverse comments made by the Court of Appeal in Butler as to the way in which the reasonableness element had been applied in New Zealand, the Authority has now reformulated the first limb of the test. The issue whether the refugee claimant can genuinely access domestic protection which is meaningful is now to be assessed against the following requirements. First, in the proposed site of internal protection, is the real chance of persecution for a Convention reason eliminated? Second, is the proposed site of internal protection one in which there is no real chance of persecution, or of other particularly serious harms of the kind that might give rise to the risk of return to the place of origin? Third, do local conditions in the proposed site of internal protection meet the standard of protection prescribed by the Refugee Convention? As each of these three requirements is cumulative, an internal protection alternative will only exist if the answer to each question is Yes. Given the intensity of the inquiry as to whether genuine domestic protection can be genuinely accessed, the Authority could find no justification for the retention of the reasonableness element. In arriving at these conclusions the Authority drew on The Michigan Guidelines on the Internal Protection Alternative (April 1999). It found that these Guidelines could properly be used to inform the development of the New Zealand law. Henceforth, the terms "relocation" and "internal flight alternative" are not to be used in New Zealand. The preferred term is Internal Protection Alternative. The full text of this decision can be accessed from the Case Search page of this web site.
[Refugee Appeal No. 71684/99 (29 October 1999)]
29 October 1999 The Refugee Status Appeals Authority has dismissed a test case appeal by a Chinese Indonesian who fears persecution in Indonesia by reason of his race. The decision analyzes the human rights situation in Indonesia as it affects Chinese Indonesians and also updates the New Zealand jurisprudence on the issue of when a fear of persecution is well-founded. There is also a discussion of discrimination as persecution and finally, the decision briefly examines the content of the right to security of person conferred by Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966. The full text of this decision can be accessed from the Case Search page of this web site.
[Refugee Appeal No. 71404/99 (29 October 1999)]
29 October 1999 Wilson Consultants Limited, a firm of immigration consultants, has been placed in liquidation. Police want to talk to the company head, Paul Wilson, after claims that the firm arranged a marriage between a New Zealand woman and a Chinese man who wanted a residence permit. Yesterday, liquidators were going through hundreds of files and contacting clients to return personal documents such as passports. Some clients said on Fair Go this week that they paid between $1,500 and $25,000 for help with residence applications that went nowhere.
["Man sought after raided firm folds", NZ Herald, Friday, October 29, 1999, p A8]
29 October 1999 It has been announced that Immigration Service facilities in New Delhi are to be upgraded. The Minister of Immigration says that the immigration market serviced by New Delhi is an important source of quality migrants and has potential for growth and tourism and education sales. The current immigration facilities are very cramped and an improved and expanded office space will allow an improvement in the speed and quality of the visa services provided.
[Hon Tuariki Delamere, "Immigration changes to enhance New Zealand's attractions", Media Statement, Friday, October 29, 1999]
29 October 1999 Eighteen people claiming refugee status yesterday began a hunger strike in Mt Eden Prison, saying that they have been unfairly kept in custody for several weeks while their cases are being decided. The men are from India, Pakistan and Iran and say they will take only fluids until they are released. The men claim that they have not been given a fair opportunity to prepare and present their refugee claims. In a statement the Minister of Immigration, Hon Tuariki Delamare replies that he has been advised by the Immigration Service that all those refugee claimants held in custody appear to have claims which are manifestly unfounded. He says that it is standard practice, and within the law, to hold in custody those claimants who do not appear to have a valid case. All 30 people detained during APEC because of security risks, manifestly unfounded claims, lack of passports or other documents have now been processed. Of the 30, only 8 remain in custody because they are still waiting for their appeals to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority to be decided. He said a further 12 people making what appeared to be manifestly unfounded claims, most of them Indian nationals, were detained in custody in October. Given the number of people currently going through the process, it was taking up to 40 days for a final decision. He said he had been advised that the further 12 persons detained in October seemed to be part of a planned operation to gain residence in New Zealand by claiming refugee status. He added that many of the claimants, and their lawyers, appeared to be deliberately obstructing attempts by the Immigration Service to have the cases decided as quickly as possible. In answer to the claim that there has been a change in policy regarding the detention of refugee claimants making manifestly unfounded claims, the Minister said that it has been standard policy since 1998 to detain in custody refugee claimants making claims that the Immigration Service staff with years of experience assess to be manifestly unfounded. He added that another lawyer, representing four of the Indian claimants, has already told the Service that he believes there is a deliberate campaign to try to subvert the accepted process. Mr Delamare said that it should be noted that none of the claimants in custody has been found to be a refugee at this stage, but in the event that their claim was successful, they would be released immediately. He said he regretted the decision by the claimants to start a hunger strike and hoped they would not proceed. At the same time he added that if they believed their claims were genuine, they would receive a faster outcome if they, and their lawyers, were more co-operative.
[Warren Gamble, "Hunger Strike by 18 Jailed 'Refugees'", NZ Herald, Friday, October 29, 1999, p A3; Hon Tuariki Delamare, "Delamare Rejects Asylum seekers' Claims", Media Statement, Friday, October 29, 1999; Naomi Larkin, "Hunger strikers' claims rejected", Weekend Herald, October 30-31, 1999 p A7]
20 October 1999 Of the 105 people diagnosed with AIDS in New Zealand last year, 43 were refugees. The Minister of Immigration, Mr Delamere says officials are trying to obstruct him from getting Cabinet approval to test migrants and refugees for AIDS. He is reported as saying that he had originally suggested vetting only refugees for AIDS, but the National Party was very keen to extend it to all migrants. The proposal is said to be opposed by the Ministries of Health, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Justice, Social Service and the Department of Internal Affairs and the Labour Department. A revised paper on the proposal is being prepared by officials to be put before Cabinet on November 1, 1999. Officials have suggested AIDS testing might damage New Zealand's international reputation. Immigrants are already vetted for such illnesses as TB and heart conditions. Mr Delamere is reported as saying that his own immigration staff were getting on with the work but some Justice, Crown Law and health officials were being obstructive. He is also reported as saying that "officials are doing their damnedest to delay it until after the election" and that "Justice and Crown Law Office are suggesting it is a breach of our Bill of Rights if people who live in Africa or Asia are not let in. These aren't New Zealand citizens. They don't live in New Zealand. They have never been to New Zealand. If that's a breach of our Bill of Rights we might as well can immigration and let every bugger in here".
[Audrey Young, "Minister angry at AIDS 'obstruction'", NZ Herald, Wednesday, 20 October 1999, p A7]
11 October 1999 The Prime Minister, Mrs Jenny Shipley has announced that it is no longer necessary or appropriate to proceed with the earlier plans to offer safe haven in New Zealand for up to 300 East Timorese displaced people. This decision follows advice by the UNHCR that it intends relocating displaced East Timorese back into East Timor. The Prime Minister also announced that New Zealand will provide a further NZ$1 million in humanitarian relief to East Timor in addition to the NZ$250,000 announced on Friday last. New Zealand remains determined to assist with building an effective humanitarian response to the crisis in East Timor.
[Hon Jenny Shipley, "More New Zealand aid for East Timor", Media Statement, 11 October 1999; John Armstrong, "Timor troops in line for pay rise", NZ Herald, Tuesday, October 12, 1999, p A3]
7 October 1999 The Prime Minister, Mrs Shipley is reported as saying in Darwin that plans to bring 300 East Timorese refugees to New Zealand for temporary haven may be dropped. Instead, New Zealand might use its resources to take refugees from West Timor back to more secure areas of East Timor. Any decision not to bring the refugees to New Zealand would in no way accede to Indonesian demands that East Timorese refugees renounce citizenship before being released from West Timor. She said the agencies she met yesterday, including the UNHCR, had asked New Zealand to put diplomatic pressure on Indonesia to drop its conditions of release, and she had agreed to do so. Mrs Shipley is also reported as saying that it was time to turn attention to developing infrastructure as the East Timorese returned.
[Audrey Young, "Shipley unveils 'stay home' option for Timor refugees", NZ Herald, Thursday, October 7, 1999, p A3]
7 October 1999 The manager of the Immigration Service refugee reception centre at Mangere, Marie Sullivan has responded to criticisms made of the centre by the Mayor of Manukau, Sir Barry Curtis. Ms Sullivan is reported as saying that the centre met present needs and would be greatly enhanced by the upgrade likely to start next month. She said a recent research project on refugee residents included a question about the centre's physical conditions. Around 95 per cent had replied positively. Many refugees had come from awful circumstances and were grateful to be safe in a place where meals, medical assistance and education were provided. She welcomed Sir Barry's interest but disagreed with the Mayor's criticism of a lack of cultural and spiritual facilities. There was a prayer room set aside in the Refugees as Survivor's office, and space was available in the centre halls for prayer meetings.
[Warren Gamble, "Refugee centre at least safe", NZ Herald, Thursday, October 7, 1999, p A5]
6 October 1999 The Mayor of Manukau, Sir Barry Curtis, has described conditions at the Immigration Service refugee reception centre as appalling and an embarrassment to all decent New Zealanders. He is reported as saying that it is surrounded by a dilapidated chain-link fence and rubble reminiscent of a disaster area. The bathrooms are inadequate, the gardens minimal and the environment drab. The 130-bed barrack accommodation has moldy ceilings, rotting floor-boards covered in tatty linoleum and old wire-wove bunk beds. The Mayor said the government planned a $750,000 upgrade over the next three years but he believed it should instead look for another site. The centre is the first stop for 750 refugees each year, providing medical screenings and basic language and orientation courses. A spokesman for the Minister of Immigration said the Minister believed the centre's facilities were more than adequate. The government had recognized the need for improvements by allocating $1 million over the next three years.
[Warren Gamble and Melissa Moxon, "Refugee centre 'an embarrassment'", NZ Herald, Wednesday, October 6, 1999, p A7]
6 October 1999 It is understood that Indonesia has imposed conditions before letting East Timorese leave West Timor and other parts of Indonesia. The authorities are requiring the names of all those leaving, a signed statement saying they left voluntarily and a renunciation of Indonesian citizenship. Renunciation of citizenship could make host governments, including New Zealand, less enthusiastic about taking in stateless refugees and could affect claims of redress for damage by Indonesia in East Timor and the ability of East Timorese to travel freely to West Timor. The UNHCR is believed to be trying to persuade Indonesia to drop the conditions for the sake of the host countries and the refugees. The Prime Minister, Mrs Shipley is reported as saying that the overall goal is to see that the East Timorese are re-established and that their future opportunities in terms of freedom to move within the region, are not damaged.
[Audrey Young, "Indonesian terms may make refugees stateless", NZ Herald, Wednesday, October 6, 1999, p A3]
5 October 1999 It is reported that community and church groups were surprised by the Government's announcement of 1 October 1999 that 200 East Timorese are to be housed in Hamilton. It is said that Waikato University was stunned to discover an agreement was in place to use one of its former hostels. The University assistant Vice-Chancellor is reported as saying that the sale of the hostel has not been completed and no-one had asked the University about using it. Another University official is reported as saying that while a deposit had been paid for the purchase of the hostel, the University still held the key. An Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that a deal had been signed in good faith with the new owner who had approached the Service offering the hostel for accommodation. Community welfare leaders have met with the Mayor of Hamilton and formed an East Timor Displaced Persons Committee. An appeal will be launched to raise money for the refugees. Eight Timorese studying in New Zealand have offered to travel to Hamilton to liaise with the refugees and to help them adjust.
[Melissa Moxon, "Govt's refugee plan catches city unprepared", NZ Herald, Tuesday, October 5, 1999, p A4]
2 October 1999 The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, has announced that 200 refugees from East Timor, whom she described as displaced persons, will be accommodated in Hamilton hostels. They will stay in privately owned hostels once used as accommodation for Waikato University students. A further 100 are expected to stay at the Mangere refugee reception centre. New Zealand has agreed to take 300 East Timorese on the understanding they return to their homes by January 2000. The Prime Minister says that if all 300 come to New Zealand, their travel, accommodation, food and other services for the three months could cost up to $5 million. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will decide both the number of refugees and who they will be.
[Chris Daniels, "First refugees for Hamilton hostels", Weekend Herald, October 2-3, 1999, p A5]
2 October 1999 Kosovo refugees are encountering difficulty finding employment in New Zealand and professionals, particularly doctors and dentists, face difficulty obtaining New Zealand registration. The principal obstacle is language. A social worker with the Refugee and Migrant Service is reported as saying that it is not enough that the refugees have been given a six week orientation English course at the Mangere refugee reception centre and a Government funded 18-week English course at Auckland Institute of Technology. She says that the Australian model of 510 free hours for every refugee and migrant who does not have English as a first language is a model which should be followed in New Zealand. It is also reported that trauma counselling has only recently been made available and is minimal, just 10 hours a week for the whole Kosovo community. It is also reported that whereas the Government spoke of 600 refugees from Kosovo, 400 is a more likely figure to arrive in New Zealand. The next major intakes are next month and comprise two groups of 50 and 64. So far 25 have returned, some leaving their families in New Zealand.
[Brian Rudman, "Friendly haven no refugee heaven", Weekend Herald, October 2-3, 1999, p A15; Brian Rudman, "In refugee matters, Delamere needs all the advice he can get", NZ Herald, Tuesday, October 5, 1999, p A13]
1 October 1999 The Refugee Status Appeals Authority has issued Practice Note 2/99 (effective from 1 October 1999) which consolidates and supersedes all previous practice notes. The Practice Note addresses the procedure on appeal; provision of NZIS files; submissions; power to issue a summons; evidence; opportunity to attend an interview; order of hearing; sitting hours; gender issues; family issues; special needs of appellants; adjournments; applications for leave to appeal out of time; withdrawal of appeal; representation; publication enquiries; publication of decisions; complaints and annual report. The Practice Note can be accessed from the Practice Note page of RefNZ.
1 October 1999 According to a spokesman for the Minister of Immigration, East Timorese refugees will be officially referred to as displaced persons rather than refugees. They will be given only limited purpose permits and will not be allowed to work in New Zealand.
[Chris Daniels, "Refugees officially 'displaced'", NZ Herald, Friday, October 1, 1999, p A4]
1 October 1999 Immigration Amendment Act 1999 comes into force. Also in force from this date are the Immigration Regulations 1999 and the Immigration (Refugee Processing) Regulations 1999. The Immigration Regulations 1999 revoke and replace the Immigration Regulations 1991 and the various amendments to those regulations. The main purpose of the substantive changes incorporated in the new regulations is to cater for the amendments to the Immigration Act 1987 enacted by the Immigration Amendment Act 1999. Due to the relatively widespread nature of these changes, the opportunity has been taken to consolidate them with the existing 1991 regulations into a new set of Immigration Regulations. Included among the substantive changes to the existing regulations are provisions relating to limited purpose visas and permits, the new removal provisions, bonds and fees. The Immigration (Refugee Processing) Regulations 1999 set out various procedural matters relating to (a) claims for refugee status under the Refugee Convention and Part VIA of the Immigration Act 1987, (b) appeals to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority and (c) determinations and applications involving loss of refugee status. For an analysis of the provisions of the Immigration Amendment Act 1999 see Rodger Haines QC, "Immigration and Refugee Law: Recent Developments" (1999) which is to be found on the Reference page of this web site.
[Immigration Amendment Act 1999, s 1(3); Immigration Regulations 1999 (SR1999/284), Reg 1(2); Immigration (Refugee Processing) Regulations 1999 (SR1999/285), Reg 1(2)]
30 September 1999 New Zealand will offer temporary refuge to 300 East Timorese for at least three months. The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley is reported as saying that about 100 can be accommodated almost immediately at the Immigration Service resettlement centre in Mangere and the first 100 could easily arrive in New Zealand within the next week. Other sites being considered are reported to include the old Opotiki hospital and nursing home, a Hamilton hostel and the old St Helens maternity hospital in Wellington. It is reported that UN authorities will decide which refugees will come to New Zealand.
[Audrey Young, "Temporary haven for 300 refugees", NZ Herald, Thursday, September 30, 1999, p A5]
29 September 1999 Australia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have asked New Zealand to take refugees from East Timor. It is reported that officials are drawing up advice to the Government on possible numbers and costs. The last time the Government announced a special intake of refugees over and above the 750 annual quota was in April 1999, when 200 Kosovar families (estimated to be approximately 600 people) were offered refuge, permanently if they wished. Most of those who came had family in New Zealand, some English, and were relatively healthy. But it is reported that many East Timorese are in very poor health and would need much more support. The refugee centre run by the Immigration Service at Mangere can take about 240 people. At present it has 140.
[Audrey Young, "Plans afoot for refugees from Timor", NZ Herald, Wednesday, September 29, 1999, front page]
27 September 1999 The Refugee Status Appeals Authority has allowed an appeal by a Tamil from Sri Lanka who fears persecution by both the government security forces and by the LTTE. The decision is an important one as it addresses the issues which arise in civil war situations and discusses recent Australian and English case law. The decision of the House of Lords in Adan is not followed. The full text of this decision can be accessed from the Case Search page of this web site.
[Refugee Appeal No. 71462/99 (27 September 1999)]
21 September 1999 In the Replies Statement (21 September 1999), the Minister of Immigration gave the following statistics regarding refugee status in New Zealand. In the financial year 1995/96, 1,965 people claimed refugee status, of whom 147 were granted approval. In 1996/97 the figures were 2,784 and 180 respectively; in 1997/98 they were 2,605 and 281; and in 1998/99 they were 3,210 and 582.
["Immigration - Refugee Status - Statistics" 22 TCL 41 2 (26 October 1999)]
14 September 1999 The Minister of Immigration has made appointments to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority. The following have been appointed for a term of four years: Allan Robert Mackey (from 1 January 2000); Elizabeth Margaret Aitken, Sharon Joe, Paul Millar, Carol Parker, David James Plunkett, Virginia Jane Shaw, Charles Martin Treadwell and Lisa Tremewan (all from 1 July 1999). The following have been appointed for a term of three years commencing on 1 July 1999: Gerard John Xavier McCoy, Jonathan Moses and Shelley Sage. The following has been appointed for a term of two years commencing on 1 July 1999: Allan Bernard Lawson. The following have been appointed for a term of one year commencing on 6 September 1999: Josephine Gail Baddeley, Richard David Donald, Margaret Leslie Robins, Martha Anne Roche and Prudence Jane Tamatekapua.
[New Zealand Gazette, Thursday, 7 October 1999, p 3391]
7 September 1999 It is reported that 19 refugee claimants are being detained in Mt Eden prison in the lead-up to the September 11-13 meeting in Auckland of the leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Council. The 19 arrived without proper papers in the past week. According to the New Zealand Immigration Service, because of APEC security concerns, all travellers without identification or travel documents are being sent to prison. An Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that until identity was established, it would be too risky to free the detainees. Deborah Manning, an Auckland lawyer who is representing five of the detained men, is reported as saying that many of the refugee claimants were being held illegally as the turnaround provisions of the Immigration Act 1987 relied upon by the Immigration Service were intended to permit detention pending removal from New Zealand on the next available aircraft. The provisions did not extend to detention pending consideration of a refugee claim.
[Naomi Larkin, "Refugees 'illegally' jailed over APEC terrorist fears", NZ Herald, Tuesday, September 7, 1999, front page]
1 September 1999 The Extradition Act 1999 comes into force. Section 7 imposes a mandatory restriction on surrender if the offence for which the surrender is sought is an offence of a political character or if the surrender of the person is sought for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person on account of his or her race, ethnic origin, religion, nationality, sex, or other status, or political opinions, or for an offence of a political character. Section 30 also prohibits surrender if there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to an act of torture in the extradition country, or if it appears that the person may be or has been sentenced to death in the extradition country.
[Extradition Act 1999, s 1(2)]
26 August 1999 A report to the Waitakere City Council says that Waitakere was to help settle 200 Somali refugee families, but many moved to South Auckland to be close to other Somalis and to Refugee and Migrant Service co-ordinating centres. The Council is talking to the Service about possibly establishing an outreach centre in West Auckland.
[Jeremy Rees, "Migrant groups shun 'isolated' Waitakere", NZ Herald, Thursday, August 26, 1999, p A9]
19 August 1999 The refugee hostel, Grove Hostel in Sandringham run by the Auckland Refugee Council, is expected to close by Christmas unless permanent funding can be arranged. The Auckland City Council gave $15,000 to help keep the hostel running earlier this year, but now says it is up to the central government to pay for it.
[Chris Daniels, "Refugee haven pleads for funds as closure looms", NZ Herald, Thursday, August 19, 1999, p A7]
18 August 1999 It has been reported that two days before legislation was introduced, under urgency, to permit the detention of boat people arriving illegally in New Zealand, diplomats told the Government that the illegal Chinese immigrants on the Alexander II were not heading towards New Zealand.
[NZPA, "Urgency despite Chinese boat update", NZ Herald, Wednesday, August 18, 1999, p A3]
5 August 1999 In the High Court at Auckland Anderson J has dismissed an application for a writ of habeas corpus brought by a refugee claimant detained in custody at Mt Eden Prison. The challenge was the first brought under the provisions of s 128 of the Immigration Act 1987, as amended by the Immigration Amendment Act 1999 and the Immigration Amendment Act (No.2) 1999.
[F v Superintendent of Mt Eden Prison (High Court Auckland, M 1341-SW1999, 5 August 1999, Anderson J)]
5 August 1999 An immigration official has been sent to Kosovo to trace ethnic Albanians who want to join relatives in New Zealand. He will be working from a list drawn up by New Zealand-based ethnic Albanians. So far, 171 refugees have been flown to New Zealand, settling in Auckland. New Zealand had planned to take 600 refugees but that number has dropped since the war ended in June. The president of the Albanian New Zealand Civic League, Mazhar Krasniqi is reported as saying that some of the New Zealand refugees had returned home to see what they could salvage, but he knew of none who had returned permanently. He said many of the adults were taking an extended English language and settlement course at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre before trying to find employment in New Zealand. He said the refugee children appeared to have settled in well in primary and secondary schools.
[Warren Gamble, "Attempt to trace kin of refugees" NZ Herald, Thursday, August 5, 1999, p A4]
3 August 1999 A spokesman for the Minister of Immigration is reported as saying that no-one knows the whereabouts of the Alexandra II said to be carrying about 100 Chinese boat people to New Zealand but that the Immigration Service was prepared if they did suddenly show up. A spokeswoman for the Corrections Department is reported as saying that staff had prepared the mothballed Larch unit at Rangipo Prison to house the Chinese. It was being kept ready for any future contingencies. Alliance MP and immigration spokesman, Matt Robson is reported as saying that politicians have never had an update and there has been no consultation as to what might or might not have happened to the boat people. He said that the case showed how easy these situations are to be manipulated both by members of Parliament and with the public.
[Chris Daniels, "Threat of boat people fades into oblivion" NZ Herald, Tuesday, August 3, 1999, p A5]
26 July 1999 The New Zealand Immigration Service has released a revised version of the Operational Manual which replaces the current Manual. The electronic version is available, at no cost, from 26 July 1999 on the NZIS web site address at: http://www.immigration.govt.nz. All visa and permit applications lodged after 26 July 1999 will be assessed in terms of the policy as set out in the revised manual. The Refugee Chapter has been completely re-written. The new Chapters 82 to 86 address the topics of Refugee Status in New Zealand; Claiming Refugee Status; Detainees Claiming Refugee Status; Determining Claims for Refugee Status; Exclusion, Cessation and Cancellation.
[NZIS Circular, "New Zealand Immigration Service Operational Manual", 5 July 1999; NZIS Amendment Circular No. 99/9, "Revised NZIS Operational Manual", 13 July 1999]
14 July 1999 Many of the Chinese boat people thought to have been heading for New Zealand on the Alexander II appear to have landed in Papua New Guinea instead. About 60 illegal immigrants are in custody after being dumped on the island of New Britain two weeks ago.
["Chinese boat people dumped in PNG", NZ Herald, Wednesday, July 14, 1999, p A6]
10 July 1999 A fourth group of Kosovo refugees arrived in New Zealand, including several who returned to Kosovo but decided not to stay. Only 16 of the planned 50 refugees arrived. They bring the total number of Kosovo refugees to 160. The Immigration Service team which has been tracking refugees with New Zealand connections is expected to organize one further flight, arriving on July 24, 1999. A spokesman for the Immigration Service is reported as saying that New Zealand's offer to bring in 600 refugees remained, but with the end of the war last month, many had decided to rebuild their lives in Kosovo.
[Warren Gamble, "Some Kosovo refugees quitting a second time", Weekend Herald, July 10-11, 1999, p A13; Warren Gamble & Catherine Masters, "NZ refuge better option than stripped home", NZ Herald, Monday, July 12, 1999, p A3]
8 July 1999 The boat Alexander II, with 102 Chinese aboard said to be heading south for New Zealand from the Solomon Islands has not arrived and the airforce cannot find it.
[Colin James, "Migrant Repellent", Far Eastern Economic Review, July 8, 1999, p 22]
1 July 1999 The Immigration (Transit Visas) Regulations 1999 (SR1999/172) come into force, revoking and replacing the Immigration (Transit Visas) Regulations 1998 (SR1998/164). According to the Explanatory Note to the Regulations, the intention is two-fold. First, the regulations add citizens of Albania, Macedonia, Yemen and Yugoslavia to the list of persons who require transit visas before proceeding to New Zealand. Second, by revoking and replacing the 1998 regulations, they obviate the need for a specific extension of those regulations, which by virtue of s 14E(2)(b) of the Immigration Act 1987 expire with the close of 30 June 1999. As a result of the amendment to s 14E(2) introduced by the Immigration Act 1999, the present regulations will expire after three years, rather than on 30 June 2000.
16 June 1999 In the face of the possible influx of more than 100 Chinese boat people, Parliament today passed emergency legislation which brings forward the implementation date of those sections of the Immigration Amendment Act 1999 which deal with the detention of persons arriving unlawfully in New Zealand. There is still no indication that the Alexandra II is heading for New Zealand, or whether its real destination is Australia. Intelligence sources have detected other vessels which could also be heading for either Australia, New Zealand or New Caledonia. Most of the individuals on board come from Fujian province in the People's Republic of China. An Airforce Orien may begin searching the seas south of the Solomon Islands from Saturday to monitor the vessels. The Minister of Immigration, Mr Delamere, is reported as saying that the boat people will probably be detained at Rangipo Prison or at Christchurch until their identity, immigration and health status has been determined. Labour and the Alliance opposed the emergency bill, saying it should not have been rushed and that a Select Committee should have been briefed on the Alexandra II.
[Immigration Amendment Act
(No. 2) 1999; John Armstrong, "Orien to scan seas for boat people", NZ
Herald, Thursday, June 17, 1999, p A3; Greg Ansley, "Trade in people
ruthless", NZ Herald, Thursday, June 17, 1999, p A15; Editorial,
"Unwelcome by boat", NZ Herald, Thursday, June 17, 1999, p A16;
Address by Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "2nd reading
of Immigration Amendment Bill (No.2)", New Zealand Executive Government
News Release Archive, 16 June 1999; Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister
of Immigration, "'Boat people' Bill passed by Parliament", New Zealand
Executive Government News Release Archive, 16 June 1999]
16
June 1999 Two members of the Deportation Review Tribunal, Hugh
Fulton (an Auckland barrister) and Rex Faithful (a Northland farmer) were
told by the Minister of Justice, Tony Ryall last week that after six years
they will not be reappointed for a third term. The other member of
the Tribunal, Peggy Burrows (a Blenheim teacher) has not yet been advised
whether she will be reappointed. The decision has been made only
one month after the Minister of Immigration, Mr Delamere, criticized the
Tribunal for setting aside the deportation order he had made against a
man who had been convicted of beating his wife.
[Louisa Cleave & John Roughan, "Trio on way out as axe hits deportation body", NZ Herald, Wednesday, June 16, 1999; Editorial, "Injudicious treatment", NZ Herald, Wednesday, June 16, 1999, p A14]
15 June 1999 In anticipation of 102 Chinese boat people arriving in New Zealand, the Government introduced legislation to bring forward, for certain Parts only, the 1 October 1999 commencement date of the Immigration Amendment Act 1999. The Government wishes to be able to detain the Chinese boat people indefinitely while their status is being determined whereas the existing law provides only for a 28 day period of detention.
["Bill targets Chinese boat people", NZ Herald, Wednesday, June 16, 1999, front page; Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "'Boat people'" Bill to be introduced into Parliament tonight", New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive, 15 June 1999]
14 June 1999 Following the arrival in New Zealand of a further 50 Kosovar refugees in New Zealand on 12 June 1999, immigration worker Peter Kennedy is reported as saying that New Zealand was still planning to take 600 refugees, 100 of whom had now arrived. The peace process did not change anything. He also is reported as saying that it had been possible to track down only 300 listed refugees who were related to people already living in New Zealand. He hoped many others would turn up over time.
[Nick Perry, "Refugees prefer arms of families", NZ Herald, Monday, June 14, 1999, p A5]
11 June 1999 The Prime Minister, Mrs Shipley is reported as saying that New Zealand's offer to take up to 200 Kosovar families was not affected by the NATO-Serb peace agreement. The second planeload of about 50 refugees will arrive in Auckland tomorrow.
[Warren Gamble, "Refugees wary of Serbs keeping peace deal", NZ Herald, Friday, June 11, 1999, front page]
10 June 1999 The Shakti Migrant Resource Centre is to close its doors this week following a funding crisis. The Government has rejected requests for help. The Auckland City Council has said it will help the Centre to find new premises. Shakti provides employment, legal and immigration advice.
[Paul Yandall, "Migrant Centre short of funds", NZ Herald, Thursday, June 10, 1999 p A7]
1 June 1999 The Minister of Immigration, Tuariki Delamere has announced plans for the most ambitious, far-reaching survey ever conducted into New Zealand's immigration policy. The eight-year survey is expected to cost about $9 million and will be conducted by the New Zealand Immigration Service. It will collect information from the same group of migrants after they have been in New Zealand for six, eighteen and thirty six months.
[Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "Government proves ambitious immigration survey", New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive, 1 June 1999]
22 May 1999 The first 50 Kosovo refugees arrived in Auckland and were welcomed by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and Immigration Minister, Tuariki Delamere. Three immigration officers are still in Macedonia trying to find the remaining 550 refugees sought by New Zealand relatives.
[Rachel Grunwell, "Gulf hero attacks NATO: Tears for Kosovo refugees", Sunday Star-Times, May 23, 1999, front page]
20 May 1999 The first group of 50 refugees from Macedonia will arrive at Auckland airport on Saturday, 22 May 1999. It is also reported that immigration officials may extend to Albania their search for Kosovar refugees with New Zealand relatives.
["Kosovo search", NZ Herald, Thursday, May 20, 1999, p A6]
18 May 1999 The New Zealand Immigration Service Refugee Rescue Team in Macedonia has located 51 of the Kosovo refugees who will be coming to New Zealand. Of the 51 refugees located, 43 will be leaving for New Zealand later this week. Eight have decided to remain in Skopje for various reasons and will travel to New Zealand later.
[Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "NZIS team identifies 51 refugees for NZ in Macedonia", New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive, 18 May 1999]
10 May 1999 Three immigration officers left Auckland at the weekend for refugee camps in Macedonia to find relatives of Kosovar families already living in New Zealand.
["Military aid teams heading for home", NZ Herald, Monday, May 10, 1999, p A4]
5 May 1999 The New Zealand Immigration Service refugee selection team is making final preparations before leaving for the refugee camps in Macedonia. The Minister of Immigration has said that the cost of funding the travel, accommodation, English language lessons, education, health and counselling needs of the 200 families that will come to New Zealand is still being worked out. Ministers have already agreed an additional $916,000 will be spent this financial year to fund the teams going to Macedonia and their associated costs as well as the initial needs of the refugees. The Minister added that the Government has committed an extra $1.8 million (excluding GST) over the next three years to improve services offered to refugees.
[Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "Immigration team prepares to leave for Macedonia", New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive, 5 May 1999]
4 May 1999 Difficulties obtaining visas from Macedonian authorities have held up the departure of three immigration officers. They are expected to leave some time this week for Macedonia to find relatives of New Zealand-based Albanian families.
["NZ medics heading for home", NZ Herald, Tuesday, May 4, 1999, p A16]
26 April 1999 The New Zealand Immigration Service is making rapid progress in identifying Kosovo Albanian refugees who wish to come to New Zealand. Over the weekend a dozen immigration staff collated information provided by almost 40 Albanian families now living in New Zealand seeking to sponsor their relatives who have been forced out of Kosovo by Serb forces. Nearly all the sponsoring families live in the Auckland region, with a couple from Wellington and a couple more from the top of the South Island. The Minister of Immigration hopes that a four-strong team will leave New Zealand for the Macedonian-Kosovo border next week. Three Immigration Service officials, plus an interpreter, will try to match up people in the refugee camps with the information provided by the families in New Zealand and arrange for their travel to New Zealand.
[Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "Progress on Kosova Albanian Refugees", New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive, 26 April 1999]
22 April 1999 The New Zealand Immigration Service is asking Albanian families in New Zealand to tell them where to find their relatives who have been forced out of Kosovo. Up to four immigration staff will go to Macedonia in the next three weeks to offer 600 refugees a new life. The immigration officers will need as much information as possible before leaving New Zealand. A help-line has been set up by the Immigration Service for anyone wanting to help the Kosovo refugees when they arrive, and to take calls from those with information about displaced relatives. The free phone number is 0508 KOSOVO (0508 567 686).
[Karen Burge, "Migration staff seek details", NZ Herald, Thursday, April 22, 1999, p B1]
17-18 April 1999 Auckland City has made a one-off grant of $27,000 to Grove Hostel in Sandringham.
[Darrel Mager, "City taking Refugee Hostel Bill to Government", Weekend Herald, April 17-18, 1999, p A11; Graham Reid, "Stranded in paradise", Weekend Herald, April 17-18, 1999, p J3]
15 April 1999 Health workers say stopping HIV-positive migrants, refugees and tourists at the border is an unworkable plan that would have little impact on the spread of the disease in New Zealand. But they acknowledge New Zealand must deal with the problem of a growing bill for treating infected refugees accepted under the UNHCR refugee quota. Refugees account for about half of the fifty-odd new HIV cases referred to Auckland health care authorities in 1998. The head of the AIDS Epidemiology Group, Professor David Skegg of Otago University is reported as saying that the claim by the Minister of Immigration that HIV-positive refugees and other migrants should be excluded because they present too big a health risk to New Zealanders was seriously misinformed. In three years, not one New Zealander had been known to contract HIV from a refugee. Dr Lester Calder, public health medicine specialist with Auckland Health Care is reported as saying that refugees had a wide range of complaints. In 1998, between one and two per cent of some refugee quota intakes had AIDS. They were mainly from Africa. Four per cent had TB, with a further 40 per cent returning positive skin tests for TB; 27 per cent had intestinal parasites; 11 per cent hepatitis B; 30 per cent schistosomiasis (an infection from swimming in fresh water in Africa); 54 per cent were iron-deficient and 13 per cent had mental health problems. He went on to say that apart from refugees, people with these diseases can readily come and go anyway and trying to control these diseases by excluding refugees is unfair because it places the focus on a very small part of the population. It made more sense to accept that some refugees, like other immigrants, will have health problems and the remedy was to establish good services for the detection and treatment of them. If New Zealand could not afford that, perhaps the number of immigrants should be restricted. To pick on refugees in particular was not efficient. He said that they are people in the most dire circumstances and New Zealand has an international obligation to assist them. He added that services and funding to treat ailing refugees were inadequate, with waiting lists and insufficient services for following up health and social needs.
[Deborah Diaz, "Backing for HIV tests for refugees but not tourists", NZ Herald, Thursday, April 15, 1999, p A3; Ron Raylor, "Health mish-mash confronts arrivals", NZ Herald, Thursday, April 15, 1999, p A9]
14 April 1999 The Immigration Service is moving swiftly to implement the decision to offer permanent refuge to 200 Kosovar Albanian families, says the Government. The UN has not yet decided whether to accept the New Zealand offer to resettle refugee families and the international aid effort is giving priority to temporary resettlement in countries closer to their homeland.
["Immigration works fast on Kosovo refugee offer", NZ Herald, Wednesday, April 14, 1999, p A5]
14 April 1999 The Minister of Immigration is reported as saying that refugees and migrants with the HIV virus would be banned from New Zealand if he had his way. He also wants tourists to declare on arrival cards if they have the virus, and to be barred if they do. The Minister's main concern is not the cost of treating migrants with AIDS, estimated at NZ$1 million a year, but the prospect of New Zealanders being infected. The Minister plans to raise the issue with his Australian counter-part at the Immigration Ministers' meeting starting tomorrow in Tasmania. At present, potential migrants submit a medical certificate and chest x-ray with their residence applications, but no HIV test is required. Refugees to New Zealand undergo a medical once they arrive in Auckland and are tested for HIV. Of the 850 refugees tested last year, four per cent, or 34 tested positive. That year there was a disproportionate number of refugees from Africa. The Minister has asked officials to consider refugee tests overseas "because once they are in the country, you can't get rid of them"
[Audrey Young, "Ban HIV visitors: Delamere", NZ Herald, Wednesday, April 14, 1999, front page; Deborah Diaz, "Backing for HIV tests for refugees but not tourists", NZ Herald, Thursday, April 15, 1999, p A3]
14 April 1999 Eleven Afghanis detained over the weekend after claiming asylum may have to wait a year before a decision is made on their claim to refugee status. The six men, two women and three children have been released and issued with work permits.
["Wait for asylum", NZ Herald, Wednesday, April 14, 1999, p A 11]
13 April 1999 Police detained six Afghani families at Wellington airport at the weekend after they allegedly ripped up their travel documents and sought asylum.
["Afghanis detained", NZ Herald, Tuesday, April 13, 1999, p A4]
13 April 1999 New Zealand, acting on the advice of the UNHCR, will not offer large-scale temporary accommodation to refugees as this risked giving the appearance of accepting ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians. However, it is reported that Cabinet has acted on the wishes of the local Albanian community in offering permanent residence to those refugees who have family links to Albanians in New Zealand. The refugees will be chosen from lists compiled by the local Albanian community which will be sent to the UNHCR. Cabinet has also decided to make an additional NZ$1 million available to help with re-settling 200 Kosovar Albanian families with family links in New Zealand.
[John Armstrong, "Kiwi mercy mission on way", NZ Herald, Tuesday, April 13, 1999, front page; Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "NZIS Moves Swiftly on Kosovo" Refugee Aid", NZ Executive Government News Release Archive, 13 April 1999]
7 April 1999 The New Zealand Government has offered to provide sanctuary for 600 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo. The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley is reported as saying that most of the refugees will have to return to Kosovo once it is made safe, although those with strong family links could stay on. It is said that the Kosovars will be accepted in batches 150-strong, because local services cannot deal with more at once. Up to 200 refugees with family links to New Zealand are likely to be first in, as suggested by the Albanian New Zealand Civil League. A spokesman for the Government is reported as saying that the total number of Kosovo refugees accepted in New Zealand could reach 600, on top of the annual refugee intake of 750. This has prompted the Refugee and Migrant Service to warn that extra assistance and funding would be needed. Housing NZ has been asked to help with accommodation, but there are no plans to reopen Papakura Military Camp as a clearing house.
[Andrew Laxon & Warren Gamble, "NZ Opens Arms, But Can We Cope?, NZ Herald, Wednesday, April 7, 1999, front page]
1 April 1999 The Immigration Amendment Act 1999 received the Royal assent. Part 3 (which relates to special procedures in cases involving security concerns) and sections 53 and 63 (which relate to judicial review of immigration decisions) come into force. The remainder of the Act comes into force on 1 October 1999.
[Immigration Amendment Act 1999, s 1(2) and (3); 22 The Capital Letter 13 11 (13 April 1999)]
30 March 1999 The Immigration Amendment Act 1999 received its third and final reading. Most of the Act takes effect from 1 October 1999, although some sections, such as those relating to judicial review and cases involving security concerns, will come into force on 1 April 1999. There is now a time limit of three months in which judicial review can be sought of immigration decisions.
[Hon Tuariki John Delamere, Minister of Immigration, "Parliament Passes Immigration Bill", New Zealand Executive Government News Release Archive, 31 March 1999].
27 March 1999 The Refugee Council of New Zealand held its first Annual General Meeting and with it, the election of officers and the Executive Committee. The keynote address was given by David Bitel, President, Refugee Council of Australia on the subject "Refugee Law and the Refugee Council of Australia". The text of the speech is to be found on the Comment page of this web site.
25 March 1999 Judgment was delivered in R v Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Ex parte Shah [1999] 2 WLR 1015 (HL) (Lord Steyn, Lord Hoffmann, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Hutton & Lord Millett). The opinions of the Lords of Appeal deal with important questions about the interpretation of Article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention, and in particular the meaning of the words "membership of a particular social group". The judgment is accessible at http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/.
15 March 1999 The Emergency Hostel operated by the Auckland Refugee Council in Auckland may have to close due to a funding crisis. The 17-bed hostel has relied on state grants since it opened in March 1997, but last year the Lottery Grants Board gave it nothing and help from a government grants scheme was cut by $8,000 to $11,000. An appeal has been lodged against the Lottery Board decision and the Auckland City Council has been asked to make up the $27,000 deficit in the hostel's $170,000 budget. In its first year, the hostel has housed more than 200 people and another 100 have been turned away. The Refugee Council executive secretary, Bill Smith is reported as saying that asylum seekers lived in bus shelters and drop-in-centres before the opening of the hostel, which provides essential services such as a link with Greenlane Hospital for testing for infectious diseases.
[Alison Horwood, "Asylum seekers May Lose Hostel Haven", NZ Herald, Monday, March 15, 1999, p A9]
4 March 1999 The Social Services Committee report on the Immigration Amendment Bill has been reported back to Parliament.
[Notice Paper Friday, 5 March 1999 (No. 99.14) p 4; Parliamentary Bulletin 99.03 (8 March 1999)]
1 March 1999 The Refugee Status Appeals Authority has issued Practice Note 1/99 (effective from 1 March 1999) which consolidates and supersedes all previous practice notes. The Practice Note addresses the nature of the appeal; submissions; evidence; order of hearing; sitting hours; gender issues; family issues; special needs of appellants/counsel/representatives; adjournments; applications for leave to appeal out of time; representation; publication enquiries and complaints.
22 February 1999 An Auckland immigration lawyer, David Ryken has questioned the legality of jailing asylum seekers while their cases are decided. In a seminar given to the Auckland Refugee Council he argued that his reading of the Immigration Act 1987 showed immigration officers had no specific power to jail those claiming refugee status. He believed that an unannounced policy change meant immigration officers at Auckland International Airport were determining whether those seeking refugee status had a case. If they decided they did not, the asylum seekers were not given a temporary permit and could be jailed for up to 28 days. Mr Ryken is reported as also making the point that the Immigration Service had also cut the appeal period to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority from ten days to five. This was not enough to gather submissions and the reduced appeal period seemed to be an attempt to deal with asylum seekers within the 28 day jail period.
["Refugee Law Questioned", NZ Herald, Monday, February 22, 1999, p A4]
18 January 1999 The Refugee Council of New Zealand is seeking members leading up to its first annual meeting in March 1999, when it will elect a president and an executive. The new body is to take over the advocacy role of the Auckland Refugee Council, which now largely provides refugee services. Convenor David Ryken is reported as saying that one of the biggest problems for spontaneous asylum seekers was the delay in processing their applications to stay in New Zealand. Another area the new council will examine is an apparently harder line taken by immigration officers at Auckland Airport. It is also reported that the Auckland Refugee Council urgently needs more money to keep its 17-bed refugee hostel in Sandringham open. [See RefNZ News entry, 12-13 December 1998].
[Warren Gamble, "New bid to help asylum seekers", NZ Herald, Monday, January 18, 1999, p A16]
2-3 January 1999 Six asylum seekers from Afghanistan arrived at Auckland International Airport on New Years Eve. A New Zealand Immigration Service spokesman is reported as saying that the group had boarded the aircraft in Asia, but he refused to say exactly where as investigations could be launched to see if more were waiting to gain entry into New Zealand. The five men and a woman would be issued work permits while their asylum claim was investigated.
["Afghanis seek asylum", Weekend Herald, January 2-3, 1999, p A4]