New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned Australia’s hardline policy of deporting Kiwi criminals at a meeting with counterpart Scott Morrison on Wednesday (Feb 22), saying it was “corrosive” to trans-Tasman relations. Australia’s conservative government introduced a “character test” for non-citizens convicted of crimes in 2014 that allows officials to expel them permanently.
New Zealanders are one of the nationalities most affected, with about 1,500 caught in the dragnet. While some are hardened criminals, there have been many stories of people deported over relatively minor offences such as shoplifting and low-level fraud.
Ardern, leader of the centre-left Labour Party, said officials had also expelled people who had grown up in Australia and had no links to New Zealand. She used unusually strong language in her annual meeting with Australia’s leader after also raising the issue last year to no effect.
“In my view, this issue has become corrosive in our relationship over time,” she said as Morrison stood beside her at a joint press conference. “I’ve made it clear that New Zealand has no issue with Australia taking a dim view of newly arrived non-citizens committing crimes.
“But equally, the New Zealand people have a dim view of the deportation of people who move to Australia as children and have grown up there.” Morrison said Australia was listening but defended the policy, which his government wants to extend to cover minors.
“Our government has taken a very strong line when it comes to those who are in Australia who are on visas,” he said. “Visas are not citizenship, visas are provided on the basis of people being compliant with those visas and that doesn’t include committing crimes.”
Ardern also dismissed an Australian media report her government had imposed strict conditions on its offer to accept 150 asylum seekers from Australia’s offshore detention camps, including not taking any single males.
She said while families and children tended to take priority because they were in most need, there was no stipulation on New Zealand’s offer, which still stood. “We have been utterly consistent,” she said. Morrison said Australia would not take up the offer.
