Too Dangerous To Be In New Zealand?

ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader and Foreign Affairs Spokesman Ken Shirley today called on the Labour Government to revoke the residency status of the three foreigners mentioned by SIS Head Richard Woods in his rare briefing to journalists yesterday.

"Mr Woods stated that there are three foreigners living in New Zealand who were refused citizenship, amid concerns that they could use Kiwi passports to plan terrorism overseas," Mr Shirley said.

"We can only assume that our Security Intelligence Service had valid reasons to come to that conclusion. It is extreme folly to allow such identified persons to freely live in New Zealand with permanent residency status.

"The fact that the SIS vetted every citizenship application, and objected to only three of 26,000 last year, highlights a real concern. What we now need to know is how many were rejected by the SIS in the past five years.

"The fact that the SIS has not asked for their permanent residency to be revoked is not the issue.

"Green Party MP Keith Locke's call for the police, rather than the SIS, to have responsibility for New Zealand's security is laughable - and should be treated by all New Zealanders with derision.

"Permanent residency status in New Zealand should not be granted lightly. Any person identified by our Security Intelligence Service as a potential risk should not enjoy that status," Mr Shirley said.

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