Bolstering trans-Tasman relations ahead of Anzac Day, the opposition has pledged to retain the direct citizenship pathway for New Zealanders should it win the Australian federal election.
Access to Australian citizenship — and its associated benefits — was a long-running bugbear for Kiwis living in Australia for two decades until changes made in 2023.
In the days leading to Anzac Day, two years ago, Labor prime minister Anthony Albanese announced Kiwis would in almost all cases automatically qualify for citizenship after four years of living in Australia.
At the time, the centre-right Coalition opposition queried the changes on the basis of congestion, cost and pressures on housing.
“Over time, we might see New Zealand citizens come in here to access our welfare system — that has a cost,” immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said.
“We’re seeing soaring rents, there’s a housing crisis… so additional New Zealanders come in here because of these changes, what impact will it have on our housing shortages?”
Asked by AAP whether it would commit to retaining the changes, the Coalition – currently led by Peter Dutton – was categorical.
“A Dutton coalition government will not change the current policy, which allows for a direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand citizens,” a spokeswoman said.
Changes announced by Chris Hipkins and Anthony Albanese come into effect today. (Source: 1News)
That statement was music to the ears of Joanne Cox, the former chair of Oz Kiwi, a lobby group formed to both support Kiwis without a safety net and to advocate for citizenship rights.
“That’s a reassuring statement,” she told AAP.
“If we can trust what they’ve said, that they won’t mess with the direct pathway, that’s reassuring for New Zealanders still waiting to qualify who won’t want the rug to be pulled out from under them.”
Given the steady stream of Kiwis making Australia home, and the bonds between the two nations, New Zealand was aghast when John Howard’s government in 2001 removed access to citizenship rights.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called the decision “historic”. (Source: 1News)
Successive New Zealand governments attempted to restore those rights, which included access to welfare, education loans, some public employment opportunities and the ability to vote in Australian elections.
All the while, New Zealand continued to offer Australians all the benefits of permanent residency, including the right to vote.
In 2022, then-PM Jacinda Ardern won a breakthrough concession from Albanese, successfully lobbying for a change which his government introduced months later.
Australian Home Affairs reports more than 30,000 Kiwis lodged an application for a passport within 100 days, and 27,826 were granted citizenship last financial year.
There are an estimated 600,000 New Zealand-born people in Australia, the fourth-largest migrant community, behind the UK, India and China.
Migration from New Zealand to Australia has generally outpaced movement in the other direction, and has recently hit decade-long highs.
In the past two years, Australia has taken in a net 56,000 migrants from New Zealand, which has suffered a brain drain during a post-pandemic recession.
