Shane Jones stood down from Labour front bench

Labour Leader David Shearer has stood down Shane Jones from the party's front bench.

He also asked the Auditor General to look into the decisions Mr Jones made when he granted citizenship to Chinese businessman Bill Liu.

Mr Shearer still backs his Mr Jones even though he's stood him down from the party's front bench.

He says Mr Jones is unable to clear his name due to some of those allegations being made in court, which is why this investigation is important.

"Both the ministerial discretions, the decisions that were made and the departmental decisions and the advice that was given to Shane to make sure all of that was in order and was done correctl," he told Newstalk ZB's Larry Williams.

Mr Shearer says he still believes everything Shane Jones has told him about the processes he followed.

Mr Jones was Associate Minister of Immigration at the time and disregarded official advice when he made the decision.

Liu is currently facing immigration fraud charges in the High Court.

Mr Shearer says he believes an independent agency should look at the case.

Photo: NZ Herald