Topics: Fauziah Ibrahim interview with Minister Clare O'Neil discussing changes to the pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand citizens and the Defence Strategic Review.
JOHANNA NICHOLSON: Australia and New Zealand are about to get closer in the next few months. As of July this year, Kiwis will have a direct pathway to Australian citizenship without becoming permanent residents first.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM: There are, however, certain requirements that eligible applicants will have to meet. And to explain them, we're now joined by Federal Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us this morning, my Minister.
CLARE O'NEIL: Good morning. It's lovely to be with you and your viewers.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM. So, it is a direct pathway. It's not that easy, though. There are still certain requirements that need to be met. What are they?
CLARE O'NEIL: Well, firstly, we've had this really odd situation in Australia up till now. Our Kiwi counterparts are more like family to us as Australians than friends. And yet the law has said that when Kiwis migrate to Australia, they're essentially treated worse and differently than other migrants. So, what the Australian Government's announcing today is that for the first time, Kiwis will be able to become Australian citizens in the way that other migrants are able to in Australia. And this will mean that Kiwis living in Australia are treated in the same way as Australians living in New Zealand. So, it's going to be a really important part of us building a better friendship as we go forward.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM: Now, there were first indications of such a move when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last year. That's when we started hearing that this might start to happen. Are you able to give us an indication of the kind of negotiations that happened between the two sides to reach this point?
CLARE O'NEIL: Look, I think the Prime Minister was told really clearly by New Zealand, and every Australian politician who visits New Zealand would have this experience, that the way that our migration law was working just doesn't reflect that beautiful, close friendship that we have with New Zealand. This is a country that we've fought alongside in war. You know, we have this amazing shared culture, the very best of friendships of any country around the world, and yet why are we treating Kiwis living in Australia with such injustice? So, I think the Prime Minister was really moved by that and seeing especially the context that we're living in in our region. The Prime Minister said, this is the most complex geostrategic context that we've seen since the 1940s. It's going to be a few decades of really serious challenge. Why would we not want to go into that with a really firm, fast friendship with New Zealand. So, that's the reason behind the announcement today.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM: How do you see this benefiting Australia in the long run? And is there a possibility of this policy being extended to other migrant groups?
CLARE O'NEIL. So, the answer to your second question is no. This is really a special arrangement with New Zealand. But I would say again, really, what this does is put New Zealanders on par with other migrants. We'd created this really weird situation where we've got Kiwis who've been living in Australia, sometimes for more than 20 years. They might never even have visited New Zealand, and yet they had no pathway to Australian citizenship. So, that's what we're fixing here. And the reason we're doing that, in part, is because that law was having enormous injustice in its impact on people living in Australia. So, we had, you know, young people living in Australia who were not able to access a university education, even though they've lived their whole lives here in Australia because they were technically Kiwis. We've had instances where women have been unable to leave relationships of domestic violence because they don't have access to social supports. So, this is really about making sure that that really strong friendship that we have is reflected properly in law and it is a massively good thing for our country and for New Zealand.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM: Minister, I want to move away from the New Zealand citizenship issue and talk about this new defence shakeup that's just been announced overnight. As well, as we understand it, there'll be a purchase of new land-based missiles, but there'll be slashing of other key army projects as well. How do you see this affecting Australia's national security?
CLARE O'NEIL: Yeah, so maybe I can just step back a little bit. We arrived in government just under a year ago, and as I mentioned, we're facing into some really difficult decades ahead. I think that's the consensus view across Australian politics. Now, what we found was that the Defence Force was not ready for those challenges and so the Defence Minister and the Prime Minister commissioned a very significant review looking at what those challenges are ahead and what does the Australian Defence Force need to be able to do in order to provide protection for us so we can remain safe and prosperous? And by the way, the Government has every belief that it is possible for us to meet these challenges, but we're not going to do it if we continue the waste and neglect that we saw over that preceding decade. So, the review that will be released on Monday will outline what we need to be able to do to protect our country in the years ahead and how our government will get us there just very quickly.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM: We do know that some Defence Department's heads do fear that this shakeup might actually weaken the army.
CLARE O'NEIL: Okay, well, that's certainly not what's going to happen. What we are talking about here is making sure that the Australian Defence Force is fit for purpose for the years ahead. This is an incredibly important thing that our government is doing for the country. And your viewers will hear a lot more about this in the coming days when the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister release that review on Monday.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM: Federal Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil. Thank you so much for speaking.
CLARE O'NEIL: Thanks, guys. Really appreciate your time.
