We deported a genuine refugee

Oh dear. Bad enough Lianne Dalziel had to resign for lying about the deportation of a 16 year old Sri Lankan teenager, but it has just emerged that she was sufficiently molested or threatened once she returned to have been granted refugee status by the UN.

I strongly favour a hard-line approach to fake refugees who often are queue jumping and just want a better standard of living. But genuine refugees who have legitimate fears for their safety (and are not convicted terrorists!) are an entirely different matter and NZ has a serious obligation to look after any that reach here or come through the UN system.

It is shameful that this 16 year old girl was drugged, handcuffed and deported back to a situation where her safety was imperilled.