Jacinda Ardern lashes Australia over deportations, Scott Morrison insists the policy is legal

Jacinda Ardern has lashed Australia over a controversial policy and provided an update on the future of the Christchurch terrorist.

Jacinda Ardern has slammed Canberra’s controversial deportation policy, accusing Australia of exporting its own criminals across the Tasman.

Under Australian law, the federal government can strip Australian citizenship from dual-citizen law-breakers and bar them from returning once their sentence is complete.

The policy has become a vexed issue in trans-Tasman relations, sparking outrage in Wellington after several criminals were sent to New Zealand despite spending most of their lives in Australia.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday, during his two-day visit to Queenstown, Ms Ardern reiterated her claim that “Australia deports Australian criminals” to New Zealand.

“Prime Minister Morrison and I have had these exchanges before. He’s very clear on New Zealand’s view,” she said on Monday.

Mr Morrison revealed Australia would ease the pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders, reducing a proof of income test requirement from five to three years, but insisted the deportation policy was legal.

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Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison have butted heads over Australia’s controversial deportation policy. Picture: NCA Newswire / Calum Robertson

“That’s not a law that applies specifically to New Zealand, or any other country. It is a universal position of Australian law,” he said.

Mr Morrison said Australia and New Zealand had two of the world’s most successful immigration policies, underpinned by the deportation of non-citizen law-breakers.

“One of the reasons you are able to achieve that is that you’re very clear that when people come to your country, they have to abide by your laws,” he said.

The pair discussed the case of Suhayra Aden, stripped of her Australian citizenship after travelling to Syria in 2014 to live under ISIS.

Ms Aden, who remained in detention in Turkey, could be deported to New Zealand despite not living in the country since the age of six.

Ms Ardern in February accused Australia of “abdicating responsibility” over the case but on Monday said the dispute had been approached “in the spirit of openness and ultimately friendship”.

Ms Ardern played down the prospect of deporting the Christchurch terrorist to Australia. Picture: Sanka Vidanagama / AFP

“As with any family, we will have our disagreements from time to time … (but) we are much bigger than our differences, and the last year has taught us that,” she said.

Ms Ardern was pressed on whether New Zealand would respond by seeking to deport Brenton Tarrant, the Australian terrorist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch in 2019.

She acknowledged there had “never been any issue” raising the issue with Canberra but said New Zealanders wanted the terrorist to serve his sentence there.

“Those future decisions really need to come from the guidance of the community,” she said.

“Certainly, some of the informal feedback has been a desire for the terrorist to remain in New Zealand … At this stage, I’m certainly not detecting any desire from the community for there to be a change.”

Mr Morrison left the door open to future talks on the issue and said Australia was “deeply sensitive to the needs” of those affected.

“We want to respect their wishes and their interests. We’re always open to those dialogues should they wish to come forward, but at this point that is not the plan,” he said.