Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
2005 General Election
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Damien O'Connor
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David Cunliffe
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Donghua Liu
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Immigration
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Jared Savage
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Labour Party
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Maurice Williamson
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National Party
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Permanent residence
The Donghua Liu donations saga seemed to have disappeared from our consciousness. But just as Labour MP's head to Wellington for the party's congress, the Herald has lobbed a bomb in Labour's direction; check this out:
A former Labour Minister intervened three times in the immigration bid of Donghua Liu including waiving the English language requirement for the millionaire businessman.
Damien O'Connor, in his role as the associate Immigration Minister, wrote three letters to Liu's advisor Warren Kyd - the former National Party MP - before deciding to grant residency against the advice of officials the day before the 2005 election.
The Herald goes on to detail Damien O'Connor's interventions, based on letters obtained under the Official Information Act:
The West Coast MP has said he cannot remember why he granted residency to the businessman whose links to both National and Labour have created political waves this year.
But letters released to the Herald under the Official Information Act show Mr O'Connor was being lobbied by Mr Kyd on behalf of Liu in the lead up to the tightly fought election.
The first, dated June 1 2005, stated Mr O'Connor would not intervene on Liu's behalf in regards to an "amended photograph" submitted as part of the immigration application.
"As my previous intervention on Mr Liu's behalf shows, I think Mr Liu has to date had a positive impact in New Zealand, and to this end, I would encourage him to lodge another application for residence.
"Mr Liu should be advised that I have instructed the Immigration Service to receive any such application without prejudice which may have been caused by his previous application."
There is no explanation of the "previous intervention" of Mr O'Connor, who accepted Mr Kyd's explanation that a third party was responsible for the "amended photograph" on the file.
A second letter to Mr Kyd, dated August 9 2005, reveals Mr O'Connor said "it is not my normal practice to intervene in the established immigration application process, however, I have decided to make an exception in this case.
"I have directed the Department of Labour Immigration Service to waive the English language requirements for Donghua Liu for any forthcoming residence application."
Mr O'Connor suggested Liu should enclose a copy of the letter with application, to be lodged within two years.
Somewhere along the line though, Mr O'Connor's position changed; the very day before the 2005 General Election, which was at that point anybody's race; read on:
A third letter to Mr Kyd, dated September 16, 2005 - the day before the election - stated Mr O'Connor had considered the case carefully and "decided to intervene".
"I am therefore instructing the Department of Labour Immigration Service to gran residence to Mr Liu as an exception to policy. The grant of residence will be subject to Mr Liu completing an application form, paying an application fee and meeting health and character requirements".
The residency was granted under the terms of the Investor Category at the time.
You can view the letters from Damien O'Connor here.
This bombshell from Jared Savage at the Herald raises some huge questions. What changed between 1 June 2005 and 16 September 2005 to cause Mr O'Connor to have a significant change in his approach to the Liu case? Was pressure brought on the MP, and if so, from whom. Did pressure come from people within the Labour Party? Why can Damien O'Connor not remember a case in which he had several interventions? And if it was "not my normal practice to intervene" in immigration applications, why did he intervene, not once but thrice in the Liu case?
And why the urgency to decide Donghua Liu's residence application as an exception to policy on the eve of a General Election in which Labour had a very real chance of being voted out? There are possible answers to that question that cut to the heart of the integrity of politics in New Zealand.
David Cunliffe will be seething. Not only has the Herald taken the focus off Labour's election-year congress, but he is now going to be bombarded with questions as to Damian O'Connor's conduct. Those questions will have added validity after the way that Labour attacked National and Maurice Williamson over the latter's phone call to the the police after Liu's arrest on domestic violence charges.
And Damien O'Connor needs to recover his memory, and quickly. He has some very significant questions to answer about Donghua Liu, and the circumstances in which Mr Liu was given New Zealand residence.
