30 November 2015

One of the great frustrations for all work hard behind the scenes at Oz Kiwi has been our inability to develop a productive relationship with the current New Zealand Government or the New Zealand National Party.

This is not for want of effort.

Our members have contacted them on multiple occasions seeking to raise the issues that concern Kiwis in Australia. The best they’ve ever received in return has been a form reply (‘Thank you for your letter’ etc.).

We’ve made offers to work together and brief them on our meeting with Australian politicians. These offers have been ignored.

We find it quite remarkable that New Zealand’s government and ruling party should show such little interest in engaging with the hundreds of thousand of Kiwis who live in Australia or the organisations that represent them. Indeed, every other party of any significance in Australia and New Zealand has been more willing to talk to us than the New Zealand National Party and its ministers in the current New Zealand Government.

This is not a state of affairs that we wish to see continued. Our offer to work with the Key Government and National Party remains open. It is now for them to accept this offer.

To push this matter along, we need your help.

If you know someone who is a National Party MP or official, talk to them about the situation in Australia and encourage them to talk to us.

If you’ve had a positive discussion with someone in the National Party about the situation of Kiwis in Australia, please pass their name on to us and we’ll try to get in contact with them.