Treatment of Kiwis in Australia falls on deaf ears

The New Zealand Herald today reported that New Zealanders are the most ignorant nation out of those in developed countries.

You don't have to read the NZ Herald to know this, although, by reading the New Zealand Herald your knowledge will be confirmed if you already know this.

This research actually came out back in December in both New Zealand and Australia.  The fact it was released again shows two things.

1 - People aren't paying attention.
2 - Writers at the New Zealand Herald are also ignorant.

That isn't the purpose of tonight's article though.  Tonight's article is actually about the ignorance into the treatment of New Zealand citizens in Australia.

The New Zealand media keeps on hammering into people that if you're a New Zealand citizen living in Australia and you fall on hard times you're on your own.  Neither the NZ, nor the Australian Government want to know about you.

You are effectively in no man's land and even though you hold citizenship in one country, if you move from NZ to Australia and fall on hard times there is no assistance.

I've talked about this before, and in the past I've talked about how people who come to Australia shouldn't abuse the system, that they should work hard and contribute to the country.

There are a couple of things that are unfair about this.

You can do everything right but then fall on hard times and what happens then?  Well my friends, because of the NZ citizens who moved over to Australia prior to 2001 there is no assistance whatsoever.  You are persona non grata.

How is this fair?  How is it fair that the welcome mat is rolled out for asylum seekers yet NZ citizens are treated like dirt?  How is that fair?  How is it fair that employers hold all the power and the employee none?  How is it fair that you can be turfed out without anywhere to go?

If you're lucky you will have friends, but what if you didn't?  What if you didn't have friends who could help you out?  The simple answer, in no uncertain terms is you would be out on the street. 

We always hear in the Australian media that asylum seekers and other immigrants who were granted refugee status abuse the system, but what about the Aussies abusing the system?  What about the Aussies who don't care about this country?

I want to elaborate on this point. People draw attention to immigrants abusing the system because it's easy to do so.

Immigrants in any country are vulnerable.

Being a New Zealand citizen living in Australia does not mean you're basically an Aussie or that you're treated as such because you aren't.

Now you see why I mentioned the comment about ignorance earlier.  People actually aren't aware that Kiwis living in Australia are shafted.

I briefly touched on this in previous blogs.  If that's the case and you've fallen on hard times some would say to move back to New Zealand but that isn't logical.  For starters there are fewer jobs available and the recruitment process is worse in New Zealand.  In Australia there is more of a "we'll give you a go" attitude, whereas in New Zealand there isn't, and that's assuming you can even get an interview in NZ.

Therefore it makes more sense for New Zealand citizens to stay in Australia.

Lack of government support does however make them vulnerable.  It means they have to take absolutely anything they can get and that may mean taking work that isn't suitable for them, or where they'll be exploited.

Of course casual work is better than no work at all but casual work doesn't pay the bills and you can't turn around to your landlord one week or your power company and say, "I don't feel like paying this week", they'd laugh and turf you out on the street or cut your power.

For some NZ citizens living in Australia there is no option of going back to New Zealand because to do so would put them in a worse situation long term - they'd be unemployed and homeless from the moment they stepped back into the country and then they'd be on welfare.  That is no way for someone to live long term.

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett however disagrees, saying that those in New Zealand looking for housing on the social housing wait list should move out of Auckland.  Does she not comprehend that although it may fill those houses in the regions it will lead them into a cycle of poverty that they cannot get out of?  It will mean they are dependent on the state for much longer than they need to be because of fewer job opportunities outside of Auckland.

That's not productive.

It's a similar scenario in Australia, by providing temporary assistance for New Zealand citizens in Australia you're actually ensuring that they're productive residents of Australia long term.

Now some of you reading this will say, "why don't you just get citizenship and apply for PR?"

The answer to this is complex.  New Zealand citizens can work indefinitely in Australia without sponsorship so there is no incentive for an employer to sponsor them for permanent residency, and how can you get sponsorship or afford permanent residency when you need stable long term employment first?  It's a catch 22 situation that puts NZ citizens in a really difficult situation.

I'm not saying NZ citizens should get a free ride in Australia because absolutely they shouldn't, and in reality, the less desirable migrants ruined things for the genuine ones during the Howard years.  What I am saying is that New Zealand citizens living in Australia are, in some cases here permanently, and in some cases going back to New Zealand is simply not an option.

In some cases people are in the long term better off in Australia because looking long term, these people are the lifters, they aren't the leaners.  These are the people who would do anything for Australia, and it's not fair that they are shafted and have no certainty when they are temporarily in a tricky situation. 

It's not fair that employers can pay such low wages or employ them on such a casual basis that they can't at all plan their future or save for a rainy day.

New Zealand citizens need a clear cut pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, not a pathway that effectively sees them shafted.

And here's the real kicker, because New Zealand citizens living in Australia have no political voice there is no incentive to even help them out when they are normally contributing members of society, so they get shafted.

Sadly, many New Zealand citizens and even Australians do not even realise that they have no support if things turn sour.  People genuinely have no idea that there is no short term assistance whatsoever.

You're persona non grata with neither the NZ government, nor the Australian government wanting to know you.

It's not right.