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Kiwis push for pathways to citizenship in Australia

Tom McIlroy and Tom Richardson

Nov 6, 2022 – 3.31pm

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New Zealanders pushing for pathways to Australian citizenship will lobby Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil in Canberra this week, as more than 11,000 Kiwis remain stuck in a years-long visa processing backlog.

After Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern pledged renewed co-operation between the two countries in June – including progress on citizenship and enhanced voting rights – campaigners say applicants for the 189 visa stream were left languishing by the former Morrison government.

Tom McIlroy is the Financial Review’s Canberra bureau chief based in the press gallery at Parliament House. He was previously the AFR’s political correspondent.

Tom Richardson was a journalist at The Australian Financial Review