Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Aussies and Kiwis are more than just neighbours; we're family. We share values, and we've shared important culture and history. Despite this close relationship, for years, many of our New Zealand born residents have been able to become Australian citizens. These are people who have come to our country, lived in Australia, started businesses, worked in our companies and paid taxes. They are members of our community—coaches, teammates and volunteers—all of whom have been unable to be recognised as citizens of the country that they contribute to building every day. This was fundamentally unfair: it was un-Australian.

The Albanese Labor government promised that we would fix this inequitable situation, and we have. From 1 July this year eligible people born in New Zealand and living in Australia have had a direct pathway to Australian citizenship. It ended the limbo that many of those born in New Zealand but living in Australia were stuck in—including with their kids—where they were unable to become full members of Australian society and were effectively left as permanently temporary migrants. This policy created a two-tier class of people. It was implemented by the Howard government in 2001. It was wrong, and the Albanese Labor government has put an end to it.

People born in New Zealand are the single largest group of permanently temporary migrants in Australia. Over 300,000 are estimated to be eligible for citizenship under our direct pathway. Over 15,000 people have applied for citizenship under the new rules in the first month alone. My electorate, in Melbourne's west, has one of the lowest proportions of people born in New Zealand with Australian citizenship, at only 18.9 per cent. I've spoken to teachers in Melbourne's west who work with kids born in New Zealand, who told me of the challenges of engaging with these kids when their future pathways as equal members of our society are closed off.

The Albanese government is showing people born in New Zealand in our community the respect that they deserve. It shows them the same respect that Australians living in comparable situations in New Zealand have received. Over the weekend some of the first eligible Kiwis were conferred Australian citizenship at ceremonies across the country—ceremonies like the one organised by Wyndham City Council in my electorate which I attended on Saturday. These ceremonies are always emotional, full of love, pride, laughter and family. It is something that is now open to many more people in our community born in New Zealand. It's a credit to all of those who have fought for fairness and equity, including those champions at Oz Kiwi, who have campaigned long and hard for these changes. I am grateful to have engaged with them over many years. We look forward to welcoming thousands of New Zealanders who have been living here, contributing as Australian citizens.

For many of us not much changed on 1 July of this year, but for some everything changed. These Australians, these Kiwis living in Australia, will now get the rights and the privileges that they have long deserved, and they will know that in future, no matter what happens, they will be able to still call Australia home.