The head of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has announced that a review is to be held into out of hours compliance visits carried out by Immigration New Zealand (INZ).

Carolyn Tremain says the review, by Mike Heron KC, will consider existing policies and processes for such visits by immigration officers visits and is needed following concerns raised by the Pacific community.

Ms Tremain says there will be a pause on out of hours visits by compliance officers until the review is completed. The review is expected to be completed by the end of June.

“The right and proper thing to do is to stop out of hours visits while the review is carried out,” Ms Tremain says.

“Pacific leaders have voiced their deep concerns and unhappiness at recent events and it’s clear that lessons still need to be learned following the Dawn Raids of the 1970s and the formal apology made by the Government in August 2021.

“Ministers have expressed their expectations and we will explore ways to achieve these expectations while maintaining public safety.

“In all our endeavours we try to engage respectfully with the occupants of premises and at all times our compliance officers are expected to act with professionalism and integrity.

“But we have been listening to the Pacific community about the impact of these visits on them and their families.”

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