Little Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 13 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7110. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement “in the order of about 1000” people with New Zealand citizenship could be deported here from Australia due to criminal convictions?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister)211KEY Rt Hon JOHN20151013 14:19:29Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes. Advice provided to me by officials suggests there are currently around about 1000 New Zealanders in the pipeline for deportation from Australia but this number will move around.Andrew Little318Andrew Little: Given Australia changed its deportation policy last year and his Government immediately began making preparations for an influx why has it taken him until now to speak publicly about the implications for New Zealand?Rt Hon JOHN KEY211Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do not think that is correct. The law there was changed in December of last year. That was obviously freely available to everyone in the world to see. I raised the issue at the first possible instance with Tony Abbott at my bilateral talks in February.Andrew Little318Andrew Little: Does he believe that it is right that New Zealand is forced to take in people who left New Zealand as infants were raised in Australia educated there and committed crimes there?Rt Hon JOHN KEY211Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As I have been saying my preference would be for Australia not to lower the threshold in the way that it did. My preference would be for it to make some alteration to reflect that but if the member is asking whether I believe I should strip those New Zealanders of their New Zealand citizenship as well—and make them Stateless—then I do not think I should do that. I know the Labour Party has some really wacky ideas these days but that is a dumb one.Andrew Little: Why is his Government accepting into New Zealand deportees who have lived their entire lives in Australia including children who do not even have New Zealand citizenship?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Because that is their legal right as New Zealand citizens to come back to this country. The fact that they may be being returned to this country against their will does not fail the test that they are New Zealand citizens.Andrew Little: Why will he not stand up for New Zealand when he meets Malcolm Turnbull this weekend and tell him that what our Australian mates are doing to New Zealanders is just wrong?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly I raised this issue with Tony Abbott in February. Secondly I raised this issue with him in Wellington in April. Thirdly I raised this issue with the Australian Foreign Minister in New York. Fourthly this issue has been raised by the New Zealand Foreign Minister on numerous occasions. Fifthly I will be more than happy to raise the matter with Malcolm Turnbull. But I do think that it is just frankly a little bit rich getting lectured by the Leader of the Opposition when Labour was the Government that signed New Zealanders up to worse rates and like a lapdog accepted it for 7 years and did nothing about it.