MEDIA RELEASE

Kiwis seek state voting rights

Oz Kiwi will campaign until election day for a fairer deal for New Zealand citizens permanently residing in Queensland.

Since the Commonwealth enacted a number of legislative changes in 2001, most New Zealanders who have made Queensland their home have no pathway to citizenship, no voting rights, and limited access to basic government services.

This situation has been worsened by a series of policy changes by the Queensland Government, which have stripped these people of access to disability services and public housing. These policies also target many Queensland-born children on the sole basis that their parents came from New Zealand.

Current policies were entrenched further in 2012 when the Newman Government stripped New Zealand citizens of any protection under state anti-discrimination law.

While all of these issues are important, Oz Kiwi's campaign this election will largely focus on just one of them: the right to vote.

'There are now tens of thousands of Queenslanders excluded from the franchise. These people lawfully reside in Queensland and most will live in Queensland until the day they die. However, under current laws, they will never be allowed to vote – never allowed a say in how Queensland is governed or how their taxes are spent. In a democratic society, this is simply unsustainable,' said Oz Kiwi chairman Timothy Gassin.

'The Commonwealth may have created this mess, but Queensland does not need to follow the Commonwealth's lead. As a proud and sovereign state, Queensland can amend its own laws to allow these people to vote in state elections.'

Key Facts:

- In 2011, there were 192,037 Queenslanders born in New Zealand

- It is estimated that 40 per cent of New Zealand-born Australians arrived after 2001 and most of these have no pathway to citizenship

- The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (1973) allows Australians and New Zealanders to live and work on both sides of the Tasman without restriction

- Australians who move to New Zealand are allowed to vote after one year of residence

- Until 1991 citizens of Commonwealth countries, including New Zealanders, were allowed to enrol to vote in Queensland, even if they were not Australian citizens. Many of these people continue to vote in Queensland elections to this day.

ENDS

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