Today, Kiwis living in Australia woke to a fairer deal.
From July 1, they will no longer be in a kind of immigration limbo, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing there will soon be a direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealanders.
New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for four years and meet the standard Australian citizenship criteria will be able to become Australian citizens - allowing them access to services and benefits.
Kiwi children born in Australia will also become citizens at birth - instead of having to wait until they turn 10.
It will have a profound impact on the roughly 560,000 Kiwis who have made Australia their home.
Perth-based New Zealander Sandy Boyce, who has lived in Australia for 15 years, is a prime example.
She and her husband have made their lives in Australia — they bought a house, paid it off, worked hard and paid taxes.
But hanging over Boyce was the prospect of possibly having to move back to New Zealand in her retirement because, despite those taxes, access to social security for New Zealanders in Australia was limited.
She was effusive this morning when she learned the news. She said it was a weight off her shoulders.
It's a matter of fairness — especially since Australians moving to New Zealand have a very easy go of it. In many ways they are almost automatically treated the same as a New Zealander.
It's a reasonable criticism to say this change could mean New Zealanders will now be more incentivised to move to Australia. That may be true, but the difference is likely negligible. There are more factors that go into deciding to move to Australia than how quickly one can legally become a bona fide Australian.
These include: better job and salary prospects, cheaper housing or living costs in some places, the lifestyle Australia can offer, and sometimes just a change of scene.
But, it is true the change may stem some of the flow back to New Zealand. For a personal example, I graduated from a Sydney high school in 2006. As a New Zealand citizen I could not access HECS-HELP, the Australian student loan scheme.
It was part of my decision to move back to New Zealand where I could access a New Zealand student loan. Despite my intentions at the time, I didn't return to Australia after university.
If these rules had changed back then, I would have had one more year before I was eligible for citizenship — maybe I would not have returned to New Zealand.
But I do not think there are many thousands in that position. You cannot stem the tide of Kiwis going to Australia, but you can make it fairer for them when they are there. How much of an influence Chris Hipkins had on that, or whether it was simply the fair-go will of Anthony Albanese, will be hard to know.
There is also a reasonable argument that the two countries' governments being ideologically-aligned — that is, both of them centre-left Labour/Labor parties — may have helped the situation. Not to mention Albanese's admiration and fondness for former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern — her ability to twist Albanese's arm may have also had a big but now mostly uncredited role.
Whatever swung the odds back our way, today, Kiwis can truly say advance Australia — fair.
Kiwis' new path to Aussie citizenship
- Rights come into effect on July 1 this year
- Applies to Kiwis on temporary, special category visas who have lived in Australia for four years, and meet the standard Australian citizenship criteria (e.g. pass a character check, adequate knowledge of Australia, a basic English competency, will continue to reside in or have a connection with Australia) and attend a citizenship ceremony
- Is retrospective - those in Australia since 2001 will be able to apply directly for citizenship without gaining permanent residence first
- Will cost $490 AUD
- No minimum income requirement or health requirement
- Gives Kiwis access to services and benefits, once they become citizens
- Allows Kiwi children born in Australia to become citizens at birth (rather than waiting till they turn 10, as they do now)
- Applies to New Zealand citizens, including New Zealand citizens from the states and territories within the Realm of New Zealand (the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau)
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