Marie Hasler National Immigration Spokesperson

15 February 2001

Dalziel refuses to deny apology

Under pressure in Parliament this afternoon, Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel refused to deny that she had been forced to apologise to either of the two Immigration officials who took a personal grievance against the Immigration Service, National's Immigration spokesperson Marie Hasler said today.

"It was plain to everyone that she was deliberately fudging the issue by hiding behind a 'possible breach of privilege'.

"It's important that we unearth whether she apologised or not. If she misled Parliament then she must be held accountable for that.

"I laid a breach of privileges complaint with the Speaker on Monday. Claims of a confidential payment and an apology imply that there has been an acceptance by their employer that the Minister's comments were unjustified and therefore misleading to the House.

"Dalziel's repeated side-stepping today only adds weight to the belief that she was forced to apologise. Her accusations against officials in October were wrong. She misled the House back then and should be sacked," Ms Hasler said.

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