ANDREU ESTEBÃO (@ESTEBOANDREU)

#NZ Winston Peters wants prison terms for Immigration officials ~ Lillian Hanly Winston Peters says public servants who mislead ministers should be sacked and "put in prison". On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said officials "deliberately withheld" information from both her and her Labour predecessors about a failed technology upgrade and used "creative accounting" to avoid scrutiny. Speaking to reporters after a select committee appearance on Wednesday, Peters said those responsible needed to be held to account. "Of course you'd lose your job. They need to be put in prison as well. It's a conspiracy against the people, for goodness' sake." Responding to Peters' comments, Stanford told RNZ: "That's not something that I would say, but it is really important that the public service commissioner does a full investigation." Peters said the revelations came as no surprise, noting that he had warned Stanford "some time ago" that Immigration New Zealand was the "worst department in this country by miles". "I'm pleased they've been found out, and now they're going to be straightened out, because they've simply been lying to Parliamentarians and lying to the taxpayers of this country." Peters noted some officials were excellent and worthy of trust, but you do get a "few apples that have gone off". He lamented the loss of more than $30 million, saying that could have helped ordinary families. Peters also questioned why it had taken so long to work out things were wrong, also questioning the ministerial oversight. Speaking separately at Parliament, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said "accountability" was important to ensure such conduct was never repeated. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/598439/winston-peters-wants-prison-terms-for-immigration-officials