Dr Eric Crampton: Citizenship can cost more than a passport

Over the past fortnight, both ACT and New Zealand First announced policies targeted at those who live in New Zealand as permanent residents rather than as citizens.

In both cases, the announcements aimed to push permanent residents to take up citizenship, to accept a sharply degraded experience living here, or to leave.

John Robertson: What We Are Witnessing Is A First-World Democracy Sliding Into Tribal Barbarism

When Paul Henry stepped into the studio on Q&A with Jack Tame to dissect the state of the nation, he touched a raw nerve that the political establishment spends millions trying to numb: the absolute absurdity of a country running its legal system on racial tribalism. What we are witnessing is a first-world democracy sliding into tribal barbarism, narcotized by an intellectual cowardice that refuses to name the rot eating our civic foundations.

David Farrar: An excellent NZ First policy

NZ First announced:

New Zealand First has today announced that we will be campaigning to change the electoral law to ensure that only citizens have the right to vote.

Currently, any permanent resident who has gone through the normal process, after just two years living in New Zealand, can vote.

Lindsay Mitchell: Residents must retain their right to participate

According to Treasury, "People present in New Zealand each year are increasingly non-NZ citizens":

"In 2024, there were 476,000 resident visa holders to spend at least one day in New Zealand, and 705,000 holders of permanent resident visas."

Richard Shaw: Can a citizenship test really measure what it means to be a New Zealander?....

Kiwi or not to be: can a citizenship test really measure what it means to be a New Zealander?

New Zealanders like to think of themselves as an uncomplicated lot. So straightforward, in fact, that successful completion of a short test can determine one’s fitness to become a Kiwi.

At least, that’s the plan from Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke Van Velden, who has announced that from late 2027 part of the process of becoming a New Zealand citizen will entail scoring at least 75% in a 20-question multiple-choice test.

Guy C Charlton, Tim Fadgen: A landmark US court ruling on birthright citizenship is coming. What does NZ law say?

The US Supreme Court is poised to deliver its much anticipated and debated decision on the question of birthright citizenship.

At the centre of the case (known as Trump v. Barbara) is an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day of office in 2025, barring citizenship for children born to parents illegally in the United States or on long-term visas.

David Farrar: Waitangi Tribunal is now officially racist

The Waitangi Tribunal has officially recommended that New Zealand have tow standards of citizenship – superior and inferior. This would be based on ancestry.

They recommend:

Simon O'Connor: Are whakapapa and citizenship the same?

I explore why one's ancestry and heritage are not the same as citizenship. I also ask, do we need the Waitangi Tribunal anymore?

The Waitangi Tribunal recently has ruled that the government should change the law for New Zealand citizenship, notably that citizenship by decent rules should be broadened. Importantly and controversially, the Tribunal ruled that this broadening of rules should apply to Māori only.

Mike's Minute: The Waitangi Tribunal is Running Roughshod

Explain this to me.

Which clause of the Treaty is the Waitangi Tribunal using when they suggest the Government recognise second generation Maori for citizenship?

Peter Williams: Citizenship, Whakapapa and Equality Before the Law

Maybe second generation citizenship is worthwhile - but for everybody

The Waitangi Tribunal has recommended that citizenship by descent be extended to two generations — but only for people of Māori descent. On the surface, it presents as a technical correction to outdated law. In reality, it risks creating two classes of New Zealanders and undermining one of the foundations of modern democracy: equality before the law.

Kerre Woodham: What do we do with children of overstayers?

What on Earth do we do with young people who were born in New Zealand, who have lived in New Zealand all of their lives, but who aren't New Zealanders? They've never known any other home, but they can't get healthcare, they can't get a driver's licence, they can't get a job, they can't pay taxes.

David Farrar: Trump just wants to copy NZ citizenship law

Politico reports:

Donald Trump’s team is crafting an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, a monumental move the president-elect’s allies say is a key step in their long-term strategy: getting the issue before the Supreme Court.