Has the Minister personally spoken with or attempted to contact Everlee Wihongi's family, her legal representatives, or US counterparts regarding her case, and if not, why not?

Answer

Ms Wihongi has been detained due to an immigration related matter in her country of long-term residence, and although we are doing everything we can to support her through the situation she is in, no country can interfere with another country's immigration decisions. From time to time in very rare circumstances a Foreign Minister may arise a consular matter with their counterpart, for example on death penalty or hostage cases which require high level representations. Further details regarding consular support, refer to WPQ 18968 (2026).