Opposition calls for Minister to be sacked

11.45am

Opposition calls for heads to roll continued today as two versions remained over how a letter containing privileged legal advice got into the hands of a minister and was then leaked to the media.

Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel yesterday offered her resignation to Prime Minister Helen Clark after initially saying she had not given a lawyer's letter concerning the Sri Lankan girl deported last week to TV3, then admitting she had authorised its release.

She also said she had then had given another copy to the Dominion Post newspaper.

Helen Clark said yesterday Ms Dalziel had not lived up to her usual high standards but was keeping her position.

National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee today said the prime minister's decision was "absolutely disgraceful".

"The situation here is that a minister has lied to Parliament, a minister has lied publicly and it's being put away quietly as technically telling the truth. Now, I don't know how you technically tell the truth when what you've said is patently untrue," Mr Brownlee said on National Radio.

"I think the minister, firstly, should resign for lying to Parliament and secondly, I think there is a question about where that piece of information came from. It does need to be cleared up," Mr Brownlee said.

The letter Ms Dalziel leaked to the media contained notes by lawyer Carole Curtis to the 16-year-old girl outlining possible steps for action, which was arguably legally privileged.

The copy Ms Dalziel leaked had on it a picture of a guinea pig which Ms Curtis had drawn to show her what sort of pets her own children had.

National MP Judith Collins and the Government are in dispute as to how the lawyer's notes reached Ms Dalziel.

Ms Curtis has provided a sworn affidavit stating she never sent the notes to the prime minister's electorate office.

The Beehive has released notes on the case from Therese Colgan, who works in the electorate office, who is prepared to swear an affidavit verifying she had been faxed the notes by a woman who worked in the office of Marshall, Bird & Curtis.

Ms Collins believes immigration staff at the Mangere Refugee Centre copied the letter, which was in the Sri Lankan girl's possession.

The letter was from the Refugee Status Appeals Authority which turned down the girl's application to stay in New Zealand.

Ms Curtis told National Radio today that she had checked her records of around July 2 and 3.

She had found a letter to a worker at the Shakti Asian Womena' Centre, where she had sent documents concerning the case. Shakti protects Asian women who have suffered domestic violence.

She had also sent the documents to the woman who started the Shakti centre, Farida Sultana, who told her where to send the information.

"What I believe is that it actually was at Helen Clark's (electorate) office because I'm aware of course that Ms Sultana is actually on the Labour list."

The copy to Ms Sultana did not have the guinea pig drawing, which was only on the document given to the girl, Ms Curtis said.

There was "no way" that letter could have gone to Miss Clark's electorate office.

Ms Curtis said she had spoken to the girl's grandmother last night, who had told her the girl had not photocopied the document.

Ms Curtis said the latest developments were a "smokescreen" for what had occurred to the girl.

"We're getting well away, purposely I would suspect, from the issue."

Ms Dalziel yesterday said she had offered to resign if the prime minister had lost confidence in her.

She also said she would resign if it was proved that Immigration Service staff leaked the letter she gave to the media.

She said she had made a "lapse in judgment" in releasing the information to the media and misleading the public about doing so but believed she was a "very good minister of immigration".

Ms Dalziel said she had been "technically correct" when she had answered questions about the leaked document but later realised she had misled the public.

Former MP Michael Laws and political commentator Chris Trotter said Ms Dalziel should resign.

Miss Clark's spokesman said Ms Dalziel had "tested the PM's patience" but was keeping her job.

Ms Collins has laid a series of official complaints against Ms Dalziel on the grounds that the letter was covered by court privilege and should never have been published.

ACT leader Richard Prebble has called for an independent judicial inquiry into the Government's handling of the girl's deportation.

The teenager and her grandmother fled to New Zealand via Hong Kong in 2002.

The girl told authorities she had been sexually abused by relatives and she feared for her life if she returned to Sri Lanka.

She was twice refused refugee status and was deported last week.

- NZPA