Immigration: What about the other report?

National Party Immigration spokesman Lockwood Smith is continuing to question Immigration Ministers over what they knew about claims of corruption bribery and fraud within the Immigration Service.

"Was Clayton Cosgrove aware of a second inquiry by law firm Buddle Findlay into alleged corruption in the Immigration Service and, if so, did he brief the Prime Minister?

"Helen Clark claims to have been 'blindsided' by allegations involving the Immigration Service and the lack of information provided to her by Ministers.

"Yesterday, Clayton Cosgrove denied knowing about a 2005 Buddle Findlay report into a potential conflict of interest by Pacific Division head Mai Malaulau.

"So what about the other Buddle Finlay inquiry, completed in 2007?

"That inquiry revealed serious procedural issues within the Immigration Service, with one manager even admitting she would search through applications in order to find and process those applications which she thought would make her job easier. This is not in line with Government policy.

"The public will struggle to believe that two separate independent inquiries into inappropriate behaviour and misconduct were conducted in 2007 and that the Government was 'blindsided' a year later. This is either incompetence or deception."