Parliament investigates MBIE leadership over $33m immigration project deception

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