Minister says MBIE boss can stay for now after $50m wasted
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says MBIE boss Nic Blakeley has her support "for now", after $50.7 million of taxpayer money was wasted on two failed immigration computer projects.
Blakeley told a small group of MPs who check government spending what the bill was. It was $42 million for one upgrade, called the Biometric Capability Upgrade, and $8.7 million for another, called the Immigration Profiling Engine, according to the NZ Herald. Both have been dumped. They were meant to cover fingerprint and photo checks that never worked.
Blakeley said the cost could still grow as MBIE looks closer at its books. He offered to resign to the head of the public service, Sir Brian Roche. Roche said no, in part because Blakeley was new in the job and had said sorry without reservation, according to RNZ.
Stanford said she was extremely disappointed. She said she did not think $50 million was the end of it. She said she expected Blakeley to hold staff to account.
She said she was waiting for an independent inquiry by Michael Heron KC. It will look at how MBIE ran and oversaw the projects.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters called the waste "that's dismissal stuff". He said Blakeley should have stepped aside while the inquiry happens.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins called the rising costs "totally and utterly unacceptable". On 1 September, before the $50.7 million figure was confirmed, Labour had said Blakeley's job was "untenable" — meaning he could not stay on.
Stanford has changed her words over time. At first she would not say Blakeley had her confidence. Later she said she backed him to fix the ministry, saying "there is a rot". She has also said her confidence in MBIE was knocked by the saga.
Her diaries show she spoke with him during the year. The June 2026 diary notes a phone call with Blakeley about the upgrade on 14 June 2026. The July 2026 diary lists Blakeley on 28 July 2026.
The broader context here is that ministers do not hire or fire public service bosses. That job sits with the commissioner. Stanford can say she backs Blakeley or not, but his future sits with Sir Brian Roche, guided by the Heron inquiry. Saying "for now" leaves her options open. It also leaves Blakeley to answer questions and fix problems while the inquiry runs.
Looking ahead, the key questions are whether the bill goes past $50.7 million, what Heron finds about oversight and advice to ministers, and whether Stanford thinks Blakeley has held people to account.
