Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono has proposed a bill that aims to restore New Zealand citizenship to a group of people born in Western Samoa between 1924 and 1949. This group, estimated to be around 5000 people, had their citizenship revoked by law in 1982. The bill, known as the Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, has received support from the ACT and New Zealand First parties.
Tuiono stated that the bill is about fairness. He explained that these individuals were once recognized as New Zealand citizens, but had their citizenship removed by law. He believes that it is unjust for the state to remove citizenship in this manner.
The bill was met with applause from opposition parties and the public when ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar and Casey Costello from New Zealand First announced their parties’ support. The bill passed its first reading with 74 votes in favor and 49 against, with the National party being the only one to vote against it.
The bill will now be considered by the government administration select committee. If it had only received support from the Labour and Te Pāti Māori parties, it would not have passed. However, with the additional support from ACT or New Zealand First, it has enough votes to proceed.
The bill does not automatically grant citizenship, but it does allow for an application to be made. This move is seen as a way to honor the apology previously made for the dawn raids, according to Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni. The Green Party also noted that New Zealand citizenship was not established until 1948, and before then, New Zealanders were considered British subjects.
