Peters calls for Kiwis to get fair go
WELLINGTON: Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has called for Australia to give Kiwis a ‘‘fair suck of the sav’’ when it comes to its controversial deportation policies.
Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday after talks with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop, Mr Peters said the two countries enjoyed a close relationship but that did not always mean they agreed.
‘‘While we understand and respect your Government’s right to set its own policies on foreign criminals, many New Zealanders question the deportation of Kiwi passportholders to a country they may never really have known because they left at such a young age.
‘‘And our attention cannot but be drawn by the deportation of people who have not yet been found guilty of crimes in an Australian court of law,’’ he said.
‘‘The case for giving them a fair go or, as Australians sometimes put it, giving us a fair suck of the sav, is very strong indeed.’’
Mr Peters and Justice Minister Andrew Little have criticised Australia’s deportation policies, for which wouldbe leadership contender and former immigration minister Peter Dutton has been unapologetic.
Mr Dutton has resigned as a minister and former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is acting in the role. There has been speculation that without Mr Dutton in the immigration portfolio there might be a softening in Australia’s hardline stance.
Australian refugee activists said Mr Morrison’s appointment was a ‘‘monumental step backwards’’.
‘‘When Immigration Minister for Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison had a track record of removing mobile phones from people in immigration detention. These phones are a legal as well as emotional lifeline,’’ activist Jane Salmon said.
A spokesman for Mr Morrison yesterday said he had no comment to make on any possible changes to immigration policies.
Speaking about New Zealand’s offer to take refugees from Nauru or Manus, Mr Peters said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not directly approach Nauru.
After meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda yesterday, Ms Ardern said she had met World Vision after its call for New Zealand to take 119 children and their families from Nauru. She reiterated New Zealand was ready to take 150 people from Nauru or Manus, but Australia played a critical role in that and she would not go directly to Nauru.