Disgraced immigration head 'invaluable'

Mary Anne Thompson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Disgraced former public servant Mary Anne Thompson appears to be able to add telling tales to the United States to her list of dubious achievements, a Wikileaks cable shows.

Ms Thompson was sentenced to community service and fined in March for lying about having a doctorate when applying for jobs with the Maori Affairs Minister and the Department of the Prime Minister.

She also headed the Immigration Service within the Labour Department. It was in that role she was so helpful to the United States.

Charge d'Affaires David R. Burnett wrote in a September 2005 memo that New Zealand would be a good candidate for a terrorist information-sharing pilot.

"We recommend that, as a first step, [embassy] post raise the issue with Mary Anne Thompson, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Labour," he wrote.

"Thompson is currently charged with overseeing much of NZ's immigration policy, including counter-terrorism measures. She is an invaluable behind-the-scenes embassy contact.

"Thompson has worked as a staffer for two Prime Ministers and has in the past provided us with valuable insights about how best to sell US policies within GNZ [Government New Zealand].

"She is also generally sympathetic with USG [US Government] counter-terrorism policies in the region."

The memo also goes on to say that information was shared with New Zealand at Washington's request and that the Government Communications Security Bureau regularly shared information with the US National Security Agency.

- NZPA