Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has signalled New Zealanders could be given an easier pathway to Australian citizenship and voting rights, and said the government will adopt a more “common sense” approach to deporting New Zealand citizens convicted of crimes.
Speaking alongside NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern following a bilateral meeting, Albanese flagged the potentially significant changes as both leaders declared there had been a “reset” in the relationship between the two countries.
He announced Australia would collaborate with New Zealand on improving the citizenship pathways between the two countries and would work to have the proposals ready by Anzac Day next year.
“We know that there have been a range of issues raised relating to citizenship,” Albanese said. “We don’t want people to be temporary residents forever.”
Ardern said the agreement was a “step change” in the relationship, saying there were obvious barriers to citizenship for New Zealanders in Australia with just 30 per cent choosing to become citizens compared to a rate as high as 60 per cent among other nationalities.
“The fact that we have, and you’ll see this in our communique, agreement that no New Zealander or Australian should be rendered permanently temporary, that is a step-change in the way that we’ve previously seen New Zealanders treated here,” Ardern said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have agreed to explore pathways to citizenship between the two countries.Credit:Getty Images
Australia’s use of section 501 of the Migration Act to deport hundreds of New Zealanders convicted of criminal offences has long been a concern for New Zealand, which has argued many people were being returned to its shores despite living most of their lives in Australia. In 2020, Arden declared the Coalition’s tough stance on the issue “corrosive” to the countries’ relationship, telling then-prime minister Scott Morrison: “do not deport your people and your problems”.
Signalling a shift in approach to the issue, Albanese said his government would adopt a “common sense” approach to deportations, but did not elaborate on what form that would take. However, he indicated there would be no legislative change to the Act or relaxation of the character test in section 501, which outlines the grounds under which the minister can cancel visas.
“501s will continue to exist. We will continue to deport people when appropriate,” Albanese said.
“But we will have some common sense apply here. Where you have a circumstance where someone has lived their entire life, effectively, in Australia with no connection whatsoever to New Zealand, common sense should apply, and we will act as friends, and we will work through those issues in a common-sense way.”
Albanese said the government was also open to extending voting rights to New Zealand residents in Australia, and would ask the parliament’s joint standing committee on electoral matters to consider the issue.
“In New Zealand, if you’re an Australian who has been a resident for a year, you have voting rights in New Zealand, you’re able to participate fully in those processes,” Albanese said.
He said the joint committee would consider whether “there’s a way to return to systems that have existed in the past” that gave New Zealand people living, working and paying taxes, voting rights in Australia.
“We won’t pre-empt that process,” Albanese said.
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