Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke out this morning in defence of her immigration minister and his controversial decision to stop the deportation of a Czech drug smuggler.
"This was a very difficult decision, and it doesn't happen often," Ms Ardern told Breakfast host Jack Tame of the case, in which MP Iain Lees-Galloway used his power of absolute discretion. "It does point to the fact this is a tough job having discretion in cases like this."
Mr Lees-Galloway was forced yesterday to release a letter outlining strict conditions set for Karel Sroubek to stay in New Zealand. Mr Sroubek, who previously came to New Zealand under the alias Jan Antolik, is serving a five years and nine months prison sentence for importing about $375,000 worth of ecstasy into New Zealand.
"I've given him one final chance to remain in New Zealand and live within our laws," Mr Lees-Galloway said.
Mr Lees-Galloway declined to cite his specific reasoning for the decision, and Ms Ardern followed suit today.
"It's pretty obvious that on the face of it someone with this kind of offending to their name would usually be a quite straight forward deportation," she said. "And so there's obviously information that the minister has had to consider which has made this a tough decision for him...
"There's other information, obviously, the minister had in front of him that skewed his decision."
Generally speaking, there are some cases in which authorities have to factor in New Zealand's expectations under international convention, she said, pointing out that Sroubek was a resident of New Zealand prior to his conviction.
"This is an individual who already had residency, albeit under a false name, which is something that does happen from time to time when an individual claims that they are at risk if they use their original identity," she said.
The conditions set for Sroubek, 37, include not being convicted of another offence, assuming another fraudulent identity or concealing information from government agencies. The conditions will begin after his release from prison and last for five years.
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