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Australian Government: Discriminating against all New Zealanders.

Australian Government: Discriminating against all New Zealanders.

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This petition has been created by Simon S. and may not represent the views of the Avaaz community.
Simon S.
started this petition to
Australian Government

Shame on you Australia. Stereotyped as welfare bludgers, New Zealanders are paying more than 5 billion dollars in tax to Australia each year, and for very little in return. New Zealand has now lost 12 per cent of its population to Australia, as Kiwis search for work and higher pay across the Tasman. New Zealanders who are now living in Australia since 26th Feb 2001 are NOT allowed to apply for Australian Citizenship or permanent residency and are refused entry to the Australian Armed Forces (what about our ANZAC history). New Zealanders with a clean criminal record can live in Australia on a "444 visa", which is granted automatically when they arrive. But the 444 visa locks them out of the welfare benefits paid to citizens and "permanent residents'' - even if they have worked and paid taxes in Australia and regardless of how long they have lived in Australia. The 444 visa also means they are not allowed to vote, nor can they receive any Government issued financial aid benefits in times of need. Without being on a benefit, they cannot access their compulsory super funds until reaching retirement. Kiwis can’t even access their own money in times of hardship! It was the former NZ Labour Government that signed the agreement in 2001 with the AU Liberal Government "in return" for retaining access to the Australian labour market and freedom of movement, yet after 3 years away... Kiwis can't vote in New Zealand either. This is called being disenfranchised. New Zealanders who have arrived in Australia since 2001 must wait 10 years to apply for the dole - which is cut off after six months - and their children cannot access the HECS loans scheme to attend university. Kiwis who were in Australia for more than 12 months in the two years before 2001 can apply for a "returned residents visa" but the Department of Immigration confirms that if travelling outside Australia after 12 months, they will have to reapply for a fee of $350 each year. If they moved to Oz after 2001, have a mortgage to pay in Australia, pay taxes in Australia or employ Australians in business, Kiwi's are still not entitled to apply for Australian Citizenship and there is no pathway available. Even if they are married to an Australian it costs thousands to be sponsored. Sponsorship is not a simple thing, it is expensive and no employer would realistically consider doing this for a Kiwi because the 444 visa allows unrestricted access to employment anyhow. Kiwis don’t move to another country to live in poverty. There is no argument that Kiwis are among the hardest working in Australia but are still without basic health and education rights. New Zealand and Australia are often looked at as being one Country by the rest of the World, yet Kiwis are being sorely discriminated against by Australia! And the disenfranchised Kiwi's can't even vote for a change!

Summary: Australians like to give everyone a fair go, what about nearly 650,000 New Zealanders who call Australia home? Currently, Australian citizens living in New Zealand are entitled to vote, to permanent residency, to receive the dole and they can apply for NZ citizenship or join the Armed Forces. New Zealand citizens living in Australia are not entitled to permanent residency. Instead a 444 visa which is granted automatically, locks them out of the welfare benefits paid to citizens and "permanent residents'' - even if they have worked and paid taxes in Australia. Kiwis working in Australia are unable to vote, required to pay taxes and levies for benefits and services that they are not allowed and are even refused entry to the Australian Armed Forces. Currently New Zealanders can not apply for Australian citizenship and can only be sponsored for Australian citizenship at a cost of thousands of dollars. Even if they are married to an Australian, citizenship is not a simple thing. It is expensive to be sponsored and no employer would realistically consider doing this for a Kiwi because the 444 visa allows unrestricted access to employment anyhow.

Australia's welfare crackdown is forcing jobless Kiwi migrants to sardine into share houses with friends and extended family on the fringes of major cities. Immigration data reveals that 648,200 New Zealand citizens are living in Australia - up from 470,000 in 2007, before the start of the global financial crisis. Anglicare wants the federal government to lift its ban on unemployment and sickness benefits to recent New Zealand migrants but Tony Abbott wants the 2001 laws affecting only Kiwis, back dated to 1st September 1994!

Sign and share:

Please SIGN this petition. Your vote counts and be sure to SHARE this with all your contacts so others can choose to sign it too! If you agree this unfair Australian law that discriminates specifically against all New Zealanders is unjust, wrong and urgently needs to be changed, sign this petition and it will be presented to those who have the power to change the law.

Sign and SHARE!

What we want:

New Zealanders and Australians are forever bonded by the ANZACS who fought together in Gallipoli. All Kiwi's ask for in return is to be granted a pathway (a way forward) to citizenship, voting, education and sickness benefits in Australia and continued access to employment.

Send a letter:

For issues relating to Scott Morrison's duties as the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection please use the following contact details.
Note: If you have a query about applying for a visa, you may wish to visit the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's website or contact the department.

Address:
Scott Morrison MP
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
PO Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Telephone: 02 6277 786002 6277 7860
Fax: 02 6273 4144
Email: minister@immi.gov.au

If you would like to provide an opportunity for the minister to respond, please supply a postal address with all correspondence (including email).

Posted (Updated )