Minister hides behind privacy waiver

The Associate Minister of Immigration Nikki Kaye continues to hide behind a privacy waiver to avoid answering the simplest questions over the Sanil Kumar case, says Labour MP Rajen Prasad.

“She at least owes that much to the memory of an impressive young man and his surviving family.

“The Minister also knows that Sanil Kumar cannot grant a privacy waiver to her now that he is no longer with us.

“Ms Kaye is just stonewalling. This is a tragic mess that has resulted in the death of a young man who was asked to leave New Zealand or face deportation before he could have a kidney transplant.

“Sanil Kumar had to leave New Zealand despite his community having raised the funds required for his transplant. A potential kidney donor was undergoing tissue matching.

“Nikki Kaye based her decision to refuse a visa on a report from the Ministry of Health which states that patients may receive three months free treatment from the Fijian Government during which time the ‘need either to find a live donor, be prepared to pay for their dialysis treatment thereafter, or get their affairs in order in preparation for their death a week or two after dialysis is withdrawn.’

“That report was prepared by the Ministry of health in New Zealand after consultation with an Auckland renal physician. It did not factor in the difficulties for patients getting to the two centres where dialysis could be performed. It also did not address what might happen if an emergency situation arose in Sanil’s home town of Ba.

Sanil’s family has told me that he was receiving hemodialysis at a private clinic in Nadi, a three hour round trip from his home town in Ba. He contracted an infection and died yesterday morning.

“The Minister could have shown some simple compassion. A tragedy may have been averted if she had shown a little humanity.”

ends

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