Below is what I have said regarding questions that I have received regarding a recent immigration decision. I accept there will be speculation as to the cause of Mr Kumars death and the case. There will be people in NZ who die from chric kidney disease. I accept though without a privacy waiver I am limited in what I can say. I believe generally we have an immigration system in NZ that is pretty compassionate. We have a medical visitor visa process for those people who have funds from other countries that raise funds who need treatment. We give over $25 million in aid money to assist those countries for further medical services and initiatives in the pacific. I have personally enabled people to stay here who have costly medical conditions. However, I often have access to information that is not in the public domain and take into account range of factors. This may include factors such as access to treatment, criminal convictions, someone job prospect, family relationships & access to services for New Zealanders. In this case I do not have a privacy waiver so am limited in what I can say. Below is the formal statement that I have given. I am saddened to hear of Mr Kumar’s death, and I extend my condolences to his family and friends. I can confirm that prior to making my decision I sought and received advice from the Ministry of Health that appropriate dialysis services were available for Mr Kumar in Fiji. I am limited in what I can say further publically on Mr Kumar’s case, as Mr Kumar declined to give me a privacy waiver to discuss the specific details of his case. I have previously confirmed that I wrote to Dr Prasad earlier this year to confirm some material facts including information about the availability of dialysis treatment in Fiji, and the actual costs to the taxpayer of all treatment for Mr Kumar. Immigration decisions particularly that involve health conditions such as in Mr Kumar’s case are complex and involve consideration of a range of factors. I am very conscious when considering immigration cases of the potential impact to people’s lives. That’s why I give careful and thorough consideration to a range of factors and often seek additional advice as I did from health agencies as I did in this instance. Obviously this is a difficult time for Mr Kumar’s family and my thoughts are with them.
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 09:11:12 +0000