Turnbull, Key agree on New Zealand citizenship deal

A long-standing deal that was struck in 2013 between Mr Key and then prime minister Julia Gillard for NZ to accept 150 asylum seekers a year has never been taken up by Australia.

He announced that about 2600 New Zealanders how lived for more than 10 years in Australia since Childhood would not be able to apply for a student loan.

“This is a good start for New Zealanders living in Australia but it is still not comparable to the benefits that Australians have here”, said Green Party global affairs spokesperson Dr Kennedy Graham.

The “new pathway” means easier access to citizenship, which allows access to a range of welfare services.

New Zealanders living in Australia for five years or more will gain access to Australian citizenship much more easily after Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand’s John Key announced a new deal on Friday.

“They will be ones that we’ll both want to claim as great New Zealanders and great Australians”.

The applicants will need to be earning in excess of the temporary skills migration income of approximately $54,000 per year.

But New Zealand is likely to be pushing for a wider review.

He called New Zealand troops in the region “a great credit to the Anzac tradition”, and said they were “very important in terms of building confidence in the Iraqi government”.

Some research has estimated that fewer than 10 per cent of New Zealand arrivals between 2006 and 2012 were granted permanent residency.

It comes amid an uproar over what will happen to 267 asylum seekers who are expected to be transferred from Australia to the Pacific atoll of Nauru.

Mr Key said New Zealand still has concerns about Australia deporting New Zealand-born criminals across the Tasman, but he thanked Australia for ensuring people can appeal adverse decisions against them.

While his New Zealand born parents must pay the NDIS levy he will not be eligible for support under the national insurance scheme once it is rolled in.