Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Simon Laurent: NZ Association of Migration and Investment Chair on the impact of Government immigration law reform on asylum seekers

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Simon Laurent: NZ Association of Migration and Investment Chair on the impact of Government immigration law reform on asylum seekers · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The government's cracking down on criminal migrants and refugees applying
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: here there is a catch. Missed your biometrics appointment and
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: your claim could be canceled. Simon larent Is, immigration lawyer,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: chairman of New Zealand Association of Migration and Investment, joins
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: me this morning. Simon, good morning, good morning. Good to
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: have you on the show. Overall, these changes are hard
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: to argue with, aren't they.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Well, if someone doesn't turn up to an appointment, does
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: that mean they get thrown out of the country. It
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: seems a little bit stark if that's what in fact
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: the paper proposes. The thing is that someone has made
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: a valid claim for asylum. Well a claim for asylum.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Whether it's valid or not is another matter, but that's
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: the point. It hasn't yet been decided prior to them
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: even turning up for the appointment to have that tested.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: They're supposed to go to another appointment in order to
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: carry out the biometrics. If they don't show up for that,
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: on the face of it appears that means that their
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: claim is going to get thrown out. What it used
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: to be was that when biometrics are brought in, is
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: that those biometric readings were taken on the day of
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: the appointment the person was supposed to go in for,
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: so it could all be dealt with at once. For
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: administrative reasons or efficiencies, it was decided to split those
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: out so that the biometric appointment will be first. The
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: problem is it was meant to happen. It was required
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: to take place very shortly after the person had filed
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: their claim, which might be shortly after they've come into
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: the country. They're new to the system here, they may
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: not even know where the office is that they're supposed
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: to go to, and they may and probably don't speak
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: English very well. So there's a number of reasons why
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: this could be really a problem for people to actually
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: meet that requirement right right at the get go.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Okay fair, So maybe there's a tweak that can be
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: made if that seems like it's a little unjust. But
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: the fact that there are murderers and sex offenders convicted
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: in News Zealand among current asylum claimants that's got to
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: be cleaned up, didn't it.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Well, it actually still can be. I'm not quite clear
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: because I haven't seen the paper. What was really intended
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: here at the present. The exclusion clause of the Refugee
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: Convention says that you can only exclude someone from refugee
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: recognition if they've committed the crime overseas, and this is
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: extending it to New Zealand. Yep, Okay, that on a
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: face of it sounds pretty good. But the point is
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: New Zealand is a signatory to a convention that's been
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: around for seventy five years, and essentially this is a
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: seeking to change this convention which we signed up for.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: I'm a bit concerned that we're seeking to cherry pick through.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Who cares what we've signed. If you've got refugee claims
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: from people who have been convicted of serious offenses in
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: New Zealand, and you can't consider those serious offenses when
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: you're try to determine whether they should get refugee status.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: That's wrong, isn't it.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Well, it would be wrong if there was no other
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: means to deal with them. The fact is that there
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: is also Article thirty three of the Convention, which allows
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: e nation to expel someone if they've committed a serious
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: crime that poses a risk national security or a threat
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: to the community. And the sort of offenses that the
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: ministers referred to are those So why not use that right?
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: But then you'd have to go through the process of
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: accepting them as refugees and then booting them out, would you?
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Why not?
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Whether that's useless?
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Why not?
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, do you see what I'm saying? But this
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: is far more efficient. We're going to get rid of
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: them anyway.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: What if they've got a valid claim for recognition of
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: facing a threat of serious harm which could include death,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: and they've come here committed it. If they've come here
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: to cause death, maybe there's a justification, but it doesn't
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: We're not clear how serious is serious. If they've committed
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: a burglary, it sounds like they might actually face expulsion,
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: exclusion from refugee recognition. And the point is that recognition
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: of refugee status, as I say, something we've actually signed
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: up to as an international citizen. We don't just throw
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: that away or try to get around it.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Simon. I appreciate your time this morning. Thanks very much
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: for being with me, Simon Levent immigration lawyer. For more
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: FAM Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news talks.
• 4:32
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• 4:36
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