New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday told Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to stop deporting “your people and your problems” to her nation in a testy joint public appearance.
Ardern tore into her counterpart over Australia’s policy of forcibly deporting New Zealand citizens — even if they had lived almost all their lives in Australia.
“Look, I have been absolutely clear — this is corrosive to our relationship,” Ardern said bluntly as she described the problem as seen from Wellington during the joint news conference in Sydney.
“Australia is well within its rights to deport individuals who break your laws, New Zealand does the same, but we have a simple request — send back Kiwis,” she said. “Genuine Kiwis.”
“Do not deport your people and your problems,” she said, complaining that some of the more than 2,000 people Australia has deported were de facto Australians.
The two leaders had begun the news conference smiling in Sydney Harbour’s sunshine, but the mood soon turned frosty.
Both looked on sternly as the other spoke, no doubt mindful of how it would play out with voters.
Ardern faces a tough re-election battle later this year, while Morrison is reeling after a series of high-profile scandals and crises.
The 51-year-old Australian staunchly refused to change his government’s policies — which are hugely popular with his conservative base — saying that anyone who “doesn’t hold the title of ‘citizen of Australia’ does not get a special deal.”
“Doesn’t matter how long you have been here. It doesn’t matter whether you turned up yesterday or many years ago,” Morrison said. “If you are not a citizen of Australia, and you violate our laws, then under my government’s policies you will not be allowed to remain in Australia.”
The pair also noted differences over climate change, with Ardern referencing repeated Pacific Island calls for coal-producing Australia to do more to tackle emissions.
“We each know each other’s policies,” the 39-year-old said. “New Zealand’s taken its position, Australia have taken theirs, and we discuss the expectations ... that the Pacific rightly has of both of us.”
Ardern also offered her condolences to the Australian communities affected by deadly bushfires, which experts say were made worse by climate-influenced drought and weather patterns.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
RSS