Investigation into Staff at INZ continue :)
It seems that more and more Immigration New Zealand staff are being investigated for misconduct.
I blogged a while back about 7 staff being sacked, but it seems that by the 16th August this year, 32 allegations against immigration staff were being investigated, and that number now stands at 34. 18 of them are about staff in New Zealand itself, and 16 are about staff abroad (though no indications about where abroad – but it’s worth remembering that of the 7 sacked earlier this year, 6 of them were in New Zealand and 1 in Delhi. It also turns out that 5 of the seven sacked were long term employees of INZ, so this cant be blamed on new people not knowing the roles of conduct.
Labour’s immigration spokesman, Pete Hodgson, said it was “concerning” that the department had such a high number of staff facing investigations.
To be slightly fair here – there was never a published complaints procedure until recently, so perhaps people didn’t know they could complain while the immigration minister was a Labour MP. Or perhaps the sheer volume of work visas being declined arbitrarily becuase of the recession has something to do with it? The article doesn’t say, and without more information on what the complaints are about – theres no way of knowing.
“The question is how long have they been crooked, and how many of the visas have already been inappropriately granted or declined?” Mr Hodgson asked.
Well, as long as they could get away with it I would have thought. Which is exactly what I have said time and again during our attempt to make a complaint. If my parent’s case officer got away once with lying to our MP, without so much as a sniffle from the Department of Labour – hes sure as hell going to do it again!
In the past 12 months, immigration officials faced 60 allegations of fraud, corruption and dishonesty, of which 10 were substantiated, 27 unsubstantiated and 23 were being investigated, Mr Bickle said.
The substantiated allegations related to systems misuse, misconduct and corruption and have resulted in the seven dismissals, four written warnings, one final written warning, one resignation and one suspension.
I would be interested to know how many allegation were made in the 12 months before that.
Mr Bickle said the department investigated all allegations that were made.
Actually – you don’t. Some of them you choose to ignore. And to be honest you can hardly expect your staff to be squeakily clean in the honesty stakes if you are going to fudge an issue like that. Of course you could actually investigate the 5 allegations we made that you ignored. I’d be OK with that as a method of fixing that little oversight!
A colleague of a staff member under investigation for system misuse said the agency was “acting on every tiny complaint” in recent months, and this was affecting morale. “People make allegations when decisions don’t go their way, and it’s really a waste of time and resources when every one is being investigated,” said the officer.
“There seems to be more of a ‘big brother’ culture now at Immigration and some of us just feel like we’re being watched a lot more.”
My heart bleeds. Really it does!
Jeeze – get a grip. Of course every little complaint should be investigated. You are charged with protecting the very borders of this great country – an excuse used time and again by INZ officials when they are being belligerent, unhelpful and downright obnoxious to applicants. You ask the same questions over and over again, and refuse to believe the evidence – so quite frankly – welcome to our world. You are more than happy to waste our time and resources! I hope you like what it feels like – and I hope you remember this when an applicant is begging you for some common sense and help becuase they are tearing their hair out trying to deal with obstinate and rude case officers.
He did not want to be identified because he said speaking to the media without authority could result in criminal charges, formal warning or immediate dismissal.
Absolute rubbish! Ok – you can get the sack for speaking out – same as most government employees – but criminal charges??? Gimme a break! Not unless you are divulging state secrets. To be frank – I’m risking more criminal charges writing a blog about immigration issues – so shut the hell up and get a bloody grip!
I’m sure this won’t go on forever – but I’m also equally sure that there really needed to be a substantial clear out of the Immigration Department. There were just too many people there doing a crap job and not behaving honestly or with integrity. Those people need to be got rid of, and if this hasn’t happened before, it just a case of clearing out the deadwood.
And that can only be good news for future immigrants. 
Like what Avalon has to say?
Click Here to buy Avalon's Guide or Click Here to buy the E-Book
Related posts:
- INZ Staff getting sacked? Whatever next?
- Customs and Immigration – a dodgy mix.
- In any country you get idiots working in Immigration
Comments
6 Comments on Investigation into Staff at INZ continue :)
-
Sophie on
Fri, 27th Aug 2010 3:46 am
-
jaimes on
Fri, 27th Aug 2010 6:45 am
-
Avalon on
Fri, 27th Aug 2010 7:04 am
-
Avalon on
Sun, 29th Aug 2010 11:19 am
-
Sophie on
Mon, 30th Aug 2010 5:35 am
-
Sophie on
Mon, 30th Aug 2010 5:37 am
As far as my little complaint in the making goes, my medicals were finally cleared on 12/08/10 – but we haven’t booked any flights etc yet. Why?
Because now my file needs to be double-checked by a manager before I can get my blue stickers – we already know the VO has no outstanding queries – who is on holiday. Apparently this part usually takes very little time at all… but I’m still waiting, 2 weeks on.
How dare these people take annual leave? :p
I get it, I do. It’s just that on top of the MA being a slow as an arthritic slug, now my file is languishing in NZ House too. You’d think they’d've had time to quadruple-check the rest of my file during the last 9 months already.
My sympathies!
I googled immigration muck up…found the usual press and endless INZ pages- and this,
I’m not in the same position- but I am. buraucrats and paper pushers, none of whom seem to have any work ethic or understanding this isn’t a file, it’s a life they’re messing with.
2 years on and i’m on application #4 —for a work permit! i’m on a 6 month –a huge story i can’t possibly ramble before i’m needed at work. Ah work- a permanent employee, justified in my position, massive company fighting for me tooth and nail….but no, immigration have opted to remain silent during the proccess unless they’re blind-siding or denying.
i’ve just placed a formal complaint and am preping to contact the ombudsman, the mp..and hell john key, why not. i’m not on the dole- i can’t be- that’s what they want- skiled migrants to boost the economy…well in the press. in truth, they want kiwis to stop bleeding them dry on the dole- but don’t actually change that policy–it’s an election year. so we’re left swinging in the wind, years after arrival, settling our lives, commiting and maintaining a life—they’re ready to pull it out from under- w/o due cause—and at an arthritic snails pace.
well- here’s hoping your reply comes quickly!
have a great weekend!
~jaimes
Sophie – that’s FANTASTIC news!!!! 
And honestly – don’t worry about this last bit – its basically a rubber stamping exercise and I’m actually really surprised you haven’t heard yet. I can hear your teeth gnashing from here!
Hang in there Hun – last stretch now
Jaimes – well first off I’m sorry my reply didn’t come very quickly at all 
I think you are doing the right thing, and I’m really glad the company is behind you. I get the impression that Immigration wont give a stuff about that, but when that goes out to MP’s and the ombudsman if it goes that far, I can only imagine that will help.
If you haven’t seen this post- its worth a look – these are the 10 things I feel I learned about having to deal with making a complaint:
http://www.avalonsguide.com/anab/2009/04/10-things-you-need-know/
If you happen to be in Wellington, I’m available for coffee if you need to chat about this. (As its not officially “immigration advice” it’s “how to complain advice” I figure im not about to get thrown in jail )And like Sophie, if you feel having copies of all the correspondence that we have with the ombudsman would help, just let me know and ill see what I can do.
Good luck
Thanks for the smileys
I’m 99.9% sure that this last check will be a simple rubber stamp as you say, but my inner paranoid prevents me from doing anything concrete until it’s over. There may be a big girls’ night out in London whenever I visit for my stickers though (got lots of uni friends still there and a good reason for a party!)
Best wishes to you too jaimes – that sounds utterly loony! I hope things work out well for you in the end – and SOON.
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
Avalon’s Guide On Facebook
-
