ACT and NZ First promise immigration clampdown as ACT targets Waitangi Tribunal

Summarised by Centrist

Under ACT’s Tribunal policy, the body would be restricted to historical claims lodged before the existing September 2008 cut-off. Its urgent and kaupapa inquiries into present-day government decisions would end immediately.

Remaining historical claims would still be heard in full, with no fixed closure date. Funding would fall as the workload declined. 

The Tribunal is aiming to finish its outstanding historical inquiries by 2030.

The Tribunal was originally empowered to hear claims concerning contemporary Crown actions, although it began as a small, purely recommendatory commission. ACT argues its modern urgent and kaupapa inquiries have expanded that role into an alternative policy process. 

Some of ACT’s immigration proposals would remove the Permanent Resident Visa category, require residents to spend at least 730 days in New Zealand during every five-year period to retain unconditional travel rights, and create a dedicated overstayer enforcement unit backed by stronger deportation rules. 

“The strangest immigration policy we have is that permanent residents don’t have to be permanently resident,” ACT immigration spokeswoman Parmjeet Parmar said.

NZ First’s most contentious proposals would restrict automatic citizenship at birth to children of citizens, double the qualifying periods for citizenship and permanent residence to 10 years, and deny visa holders access to benefits during their first decade in New Zealand. 

An exception would give Pacific overstayers two years to obtain a valid visa. NZ First also wants a 30-year population plan and a referendum on capping resident visas at 20,000 annually, with major population growth conditional on infrastructure being funded.

Winston Peters said NZ First would restore the principle that immigration was “a privilege, not a right”.

National’s Erica Stanford questioned how NZ First could promise tighter migration while offering Pacific overstayers a pathway to remain. 

Read more at RNZ | and 1News

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