The Australian’s Government’s “citizenship pathway” is welcome progress but there is still a long way to go, said the Green Party today.
Today, the Australian Government announced that New Zealanders will now have a pathway to citizenship, through permanent residence, if they have been living there for over five years and have met the income threshold. The pathway is retrospective and will not apply to those who arrive in Australia from today.
“This is a good start for New Zealanders living in Australia but it is still not comparable to the benefits that Australians have here,” said Green Party global affairs spokesperson Dr Kennedy Graham.
“John Key should push for more rights for Kiwis including full access to Australian Government jobs, and equitable funding for tertiary education.
“A real win for Kiwis would be to secure the same rights for New Zealanders in Australia as we give Australians living here. Kiwis don’t deserve to be second-class citizens across the Tasman, when we treat Australians as one of us here,” said Dr Graham.
