Overstayers’ time short

Press, 12 October 1976, Page 3

Overstayers’ time short

PA Auckland The 28 overstayers who have refused to go home have been given three ultimatums by the Labour Department since July.

The third deadline day — Thursday of this week — will be the last, the head of the department’s Auckland immigration section (Mr A. Smith) said yesterday. “We will be instituting court proceedings against them after that date,” he said. On Saturday, it was revealed that the first 28 overstayers ordered to go home were in hiding. These were the people who had asked for time to put their affairs in order before leaving. On July 27, they had been told by telegram that they had 14 days to leave, but none, did so. The overstayers had then been visited by departmental field officers, and asked to produce evidence of their intention to leave within 14 days. Some had produced evidence, but none left by the due date, Mr Smith said. On September 30, letters were sent, accompanied by letters to be handed to Customs officers on departure. None of these had been presented, he said.

Most of the overstayers were single men, and they included Tongans, Fijians and Samoans. Mr Smith would not discuss the problems facing his department if there was widespread refusal to obey instructions to go home by more than 3000 rejected overstayers.

The department has three officers available in Auckland to trace reluctant leavers. Unless the strict staff ceilings imposed by the Government as an economy measure were lifted, no more can be recruited.

One staff member, who refused to be named, said yesterday:

“We’d need between 18 and 24 to do it effectively. And we’d need lots of cars. It would be very expensive.

One rejected overstayer yesterday questioned a statement in Parliament last Wednesday by the Minister of Immigration (Mr Gill), when he said that no-one had been asked to go before January 31, 1977. The overstayer has a letter dated October 8 — two days after the Minister’s statement — telling him to leave by November 30, 1976. The letter was signed by Mr Don Bond, the assistant Director of Immigration. The man, a Fijian-Indian who overstayed a threemonth work permit in 1974, and his employer, Mr Colin Hooper, an Auckland printer, both questioned the rejection order.

“It’s almost impossible to replace chaps these days,” said Mr Hooper.

“We’ve been advertising for three and a half weeks since another chap left, and have had no satisfactory replies. It’s exceptionally hard to get trained printers.”