Greg Rudd, independent Senate candidate for Queensland and brother of the Prime Minister, put out this press release today: Media Release: 1 September 2013 ANZAC – PARTNERS ONLY IN WAR? ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corp. It’s part of our national heritage. Politicians on all sides shamelessly use it for national identity reasons. I wrote and directed a play (Over the Top) celebrating it when teaching Theatre and Film & TV at St Peters’ Lutheran College decades ago. Yet when a current NZ serviceman or woman comes to Australia they can’t get a job in the Australian Defence Force because they are not Australian citizens. Australians can get a job in the NZ Defence Force. Fair? No. Kiwi’s coming to Australia can’t get a job in the federal public service. Australians can get a job in the NZ public service. Fair? No. Kiwis in Australia will pay the NDIS levy but won’t be able to access NDIS. Fair? No. If an Australian married to a Kiwi falls on hard times or gets injured at work they only get a percentage of normal welfare payments because they’re married to a Kiwi. Fair? No. A student who’s done primary school and high school in Australia and achieved well enough to go to university can’t access HECS or normal student allowances because their parents are Kiwis. Fair? No. Kiwis who’ve paid tax in Australia for the past 12 years but fall on hard times can’t access standard welfare payments to get back on their feet. Australians living in NZ can if they’ve lived in NZ longer than 2 years. Fair? No. A child born in Australia to Kiwis who’ve made Australia home for the past 12 years and have regular tax paying jobs is not granted Australian citizenship at birth. They have to wait 10 years. Fair? No. This has been going on since 2001 when the Australian Government bluntly and ruthlessly changed immigration rules for New Zealanders to stop other migrants using NZ as an easy stepping stone to Australia. The NZ Government needs to make it tougher to get a NZ passport. The Australian Government needs to remember the ANZAC tradition and revisit these unfair and draconian rules. That is of course if we are still the land of the ‘fair go’. Kiwis are happy to live 4 years in Australia before they can access Australian welfare even though Australians only have to wait 2 years in NZ. The vast majority aren’t on welfare. Most have tax paying jobs. 2015 is the 100th Anniversary of Gallipoli. That’s the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC tradition. How can either Government hold their head high during that commemoration if this ridiculous inequity has not been remedied in advance. I was a key organiser of the 1995 Australia Remembers program that commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Whether I become Queensland’s first Independent Senator or not I know what buttons to press to make life very uncomfortable for any Government that refuses to remedy this unfairness. This is a promise I have made to our Kiwi friends. And for those who insist on sending me hate mail. There will always be dole bludgers no matter whether Aussie, Kiwi or any other ethnic group. That’s not the issue. And that’s why there’s agreement not to access welfare payments until after 4 years of living and paying tax in Australia. The issue is Kiwis, who have more in common with Australia than anyone else in the world, should have the same straightforward pathway to residency and citizenship like any other migrant group coming to Australia. They should not be locked out as if they are somehow a lower class of potential citizen. For more information please contact Greg Rudd on 0408 687 606 or at qldvoice@gregrudd (Oz Kiwi is an apolitical organisation and will not be endorsing any candidates for this elections. We provide this information to supports so they can make up their own minds - Tim)
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 05:00:00 +0000
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