PM has serious questions to answer about Faafoi

The Prime Minister has serious questions to ask Minister Kris Faafoi about his failure to declare a conflict of interest in an immigration case, Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges says.

“Revelations from Newshub that Kris Faafoi messaged a friend offering to get involved in an immigration case, claiming to ‘have a plan’ and offering to talk to ‘people who can speed things up’ are incredibly serious.

“Minister Faafoi acknowledged in his messages that if he dealt with it, it would be a ‘direct conflict of interest’ and asked his friend not to go public about it. He knew it would be a breach of the Cabinet Manual.

“The Prime Minister didn’t know anything about this when she was contacted. She needs to immediately ask Mr Faafoi what went on here.

“When it comes to immigration matters there must not be special treatment for some people. Not everyone has a friend in Cabinet they can call to ask for a favour.

“What’s really sad for the Prime Minister is that Kris Faafoi appeared to be one of her only competent Ministers. Now, even he’s let her down.

“The Prime Minister needs to show some leadership and deal with this matter quickly so New Zealanders can be assured that the immigration system is fair for everyone.”

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