Parliament investigates MBIE officials over $33m project deception

Parliament's Privileges Committee is formally investigating MBIE chief executive Nic Blakeley and senior officials for allegedly misleading the education and workforce select committee about the Immigration Biometric Upgrade project. Officials told MPs the $33 million project was being reworked when it had already been abandoned in 2024. A contempt of Parliament finding carries no criminal penalty but would carry substantial reputational weight against a sitting chief executive.