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40,000 sign petition for equal rights
A New Zealand advocacy group in Australia claims it has obtained some 40,000 signatures on a petition it will present to the Australian Parliament next week calling for New Zealanders to be given the same rights as other permanent residents residing in Australia, according to a Radio New Zealand report.
Last year, thousands of New Zealanders marched through Australian cities demanding equal rights after a series of media stories engaged in Kiwi bashing’ with some titles screaming, “JOBLESS Kiwis are flocking to Australia in search of work - and demanding the dole.” This year the New Zealand advocacy group, Oz Kiwi is aiming to put pressure directly on the Australian government to allow New Zealanders living permanently in Australia to naturalise within a designated time period so they can vote.
Spokesperson Timothy Gassin said the OZ Kiwi proposal was simple: that New Zealanders who move to Australia, who have been self sufficient and pay tax, should be given the full rights of other Australian residents and be allowed the option of becoming an Australian citizen.
Mr Gassin told Radio New Zealand that Oz Kiwi would meet with senators and parliamentarians this week to present their concerns and the petition which he claims has some 40,000 signatures.
Currently New Zealanders with a clean criminal record can enter, live and work indefinitely in Australia on a sc444 visa, which is granted automatically when they arrive. There are about 650,000 New Zealanders living in Australia on the Special Category Visa. An estimated 200,000 of these Kiwis are subject to the 2001 restrictions which deny New Zealanders a range of entitlements including welfare and various forms of government assistance from education and healthcare to disaster relief.
Mr Gassin pointed out this poses great difficulties for certain disadvantaged groups: "New Zealanders living in Australia can't get the unemployment benefit or any help if they or their partner or children become disabled, even if their spouse is an Australian" he said, adding that the issue of benefits was particularly relevant when it came to New Zealanders trapped in a relationship where they experienced domestic violence.
He said a lot of processes within domestic violence required someone to show that they were in receipt of an Australian Government payment, and New Zealanders are now ineligible for those.
"Women who are fleeing domestic violence often can't get access to women's refuges."
Mr Gassin agreed that people shouldn't be able to just come off the plane and be given every right that an Australian has.
"It's fair the Australian Government puts restrictions in place. People should show some commitment before they have every single right in a new country."
But he said New Zealanders had a greater shared history and agreements with Australia and that was why the laws around New Zealanders should be revisited.
"Where is the New Zealand in ANZAC? Equality and fairness is all we are asking for."
Comments
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Monday, 15 June 2015There should be certain criteria for NZers when they apply for residency in Australia. True that the Australian government don't want to add another burden to the growing unemployment of the citizens in this country; however, they should be more considerate with NZ citizens who are contributing to their economy, not the unemployed ones. There should set up criteria like paying tax, good character, (maybe skilled), but this shouldn't be points tested. The only thing that I can get residency here is to get sponsorship from my employer. I am a skilled migrant but can only qualify for a Employer Nominated Scheme. I am short of points for the Independent 189 and my qualification is not listed in SOL, only in CSOL. Hope that more consideration can be given to skilled NZ citizens.
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Monday, 15 June 2015
There would have to be mutuality of resident/citizen rights and duties across a wide spectrum of laws. Neither country has seemed to find that desirable in the past. Tweaking our migration laws to satisfy the latest petition is not the answer.
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Monday, 15 June 2015
The problem with NZ citizens is that they have all the rights to work in Australia; however, when they apply for visa 186/ 187 visas they need to get a sponsorship from their employer. The sad thing is that when employers send out their advertisements to hire, it will say you must have working right to apply for this job, which NZers have. It will be difficult for employers to sponsor NZers as they have the rights to work, not unless they should be considered like the 457 visa holders where they can apply for residency after two years. But then of course this should still be under the skilled migration but not the point system like the other schemes.
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Monday, 15 June 2015
Now that I think of it, since no one but Australians and New Zealanders can tell the difference between Australians and New Zealanders, perhaps joint citizenship or re-uniting the colonies would solve the cross-migration problem. Of course, then there's rugby...
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Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Also partner of NZer on subclass 461 is not eligible for medicare benefit but we pay medicare levy and ielts score 6 each band to apply ENS it so difficult even lots of students cant get that score and need to meet the skill occupation list. That not make it different NZer with other countries. I hopefully the immigration law will change.
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Tuesday, 16 June 2015
There is provision in Australia's constitution for NZ to join the federation. Maybe we could combine Tasmania with NZ and create the southern Island State.
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Wednesday, 07 October 2015
As a former NZ politician currently completing my PHD in Political Science, this 2002 Act clearly goes against the spirit and letter of Anzac where Oz and kiwis have fought side by side form the Boer War 1905 to WW1 and WW2. Winston Peters won the seat of Northland from the current National led government campaigning on the fact that Kiwis can't become soldiers in Oz. I think it's time that a reciprocal law similar to what Howard legislated in 2002 in Oz be likewise legislated in NZ, the law of reciprocity applies.
I will ask my former colleague in the current NZParliament to look into this who is a Cabinet Minister in John Keys government, Peter Dunne is his name and he is part of United new Zealand party currently in coalition in government. We Kiwis need to likewise legislate to ensure no Australian allowed to have our dole, student loans/allowances, training allowances and DPB(domestic proposes benefit). Also not allowed to join our NZ Army, British and South Africans and American, Canadian allowed.
What's the point of having a Closer Economic Relations Agreement signed in 2008 between Australia and New Zealand if Kiwis are being unjustly and unfairly treated. My daughter who got 93% for her VCE(Victorian High School Exams) which is granted to all students who get 90% and above score for Monash Universitystudents were told she was too late to apply which is bullshit, just a technicality to unjustly hinder her right because she is a Kiwi.
Further measures as I have law degree and pat of Kiwis Against Australian Discrimination would like to support Oz Kiwi in bringing this matter to the International Court of Justice on this breach of human rights or the European Court of Human Rights. -
Wednesday, 07 October 2015
Using the Courts and Parliament in Australia is honourable but time wasting as it's basically a kangaroo court, it's time to bring this matter to the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Commission as clearly the fundamental rights of Kiwis being denied safety net, dole and funding for university education while Australians can get our Kiwi benefits fly in the face of justice and equality of opportunity and breaches United Nations provisions. Only by bringing this matter to the International Court of Justice will there be a fair and balanced adjudicatory process.
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Wednesday, 07 October 2015
It's time for NZ to lead the Oceania Federation of Pacific island states as Australia has declared itself part of Asia the Australia can't be greedy and have their finger in every pie as a former NZ Politician with United NZ Party I am willing to support Oz Kiwi in the International Court of Justice and/or European Court of Human Rights.
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Saturday, 28 March 2020
As Scott Morrison has asked all Australians to remember the Anzac spirit in these difficult times, he seems to totally ignore NZ and so has become just an AAC.
After all the hard work that Kiwis have put into Australia, not forgetting of course WW1 and WW2 and re recent fundraising for the Aussie bushfires,where New Zealand felt for and helped their ANZAC mates, it seems more than heartless for Morrisson not to help HIS Anzac mates.
I am the father of a son who works six days a week,pays his taxes, employs Australians and has recently bought a house and calls Australia "home". I am terribly disappointed in the Australian government.
Immigration blog
The problem is simple:
"it will present to the Australian Parliament next week calling for New Zealanders to be given the same rights as other permanent residents residing in Australia"
The subclass 444 visa (Special Category Visa) is NOT a permanent visa.
It just ain't.
Subclass 444 visa holders DO have exemptions per skill requirements when applying for a subclass 186 or 187 permanent visas and why more of them do NOT try that is beyond me.
Because a subclass 444 visa holder MUST also be a New Zealand citizen then they are also exempted from an English language test!
I realise that all the above relies upon an employer nomination however that is NOT an unreasonable requirement given the outcome of a not-that-difficult to acquire permanent visa.
Ok, so if a subclass 444 visa holder is in a relationship with an Australian citizen and there are disabled New Zealand dependents within that family unit (per the example above) then the option is for the Australian to lodge an application for a Partner Visa and seek a health waiver.
Simply permitting "naturalisation" (no longer existing) per length of stay on a subclass 444 visa is crazy and will lead to long term migration distortions,