Australia would be forced to keep dangerous criminals, including drug dealers and child sex offenders, if Jacinda Ardern were to have her way.
The New Zealand prime minister had a tit-for-tat exchange with her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on Friday.
The pair shared an awkward standoff as they rowed about the deportation of New Zealanders from Australia during a press conference in Sydney.
Ms Ardern criticised Australia’s deportation laws which send Kiwi criminals back to New Zealand no matter how long they have lived overseas.
Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Ms Ardern criticised the coalition’s deportation of Kiwi criminals back to New Zealand (pictured with Scott Morrison)
Ms Ardern has insisted many of the criminals have ‘almost no connection’ to New Zealand.
But that would leave Australia stuck with dangerous and violent offenders, 40 per cent of whom go on to re-offend.
More than 1,000 New Zealanders have been deported from Australia since 2014 when changes were made to the Migration Act.
Drug offences, assault and child sex offences are the most common charges that result in deportation.
The law means even if an individual is an Australian permanent resident, and has lived and worked in the country for decades, they can still be deported.
In the name of national security, they can be ejected on ‘bad character’ grounds if they are sentenced to 12 months or more in prison.
New Zealanders are thought to be the largest group to have had their visas cancels and be held in Australian immigration detention centres.
AFL superstar Dustin Martin (pictured, left) with his father Shane (right) who was deported to New Zealand
AFL superstar Dustin Martin’s drug-trafficker dad
The ex-bikie father of AFL superstar Dustin Martin was deported from Australia for a second time on February 17, after trying to re-enter the country by claiming he has Aboriginal heritage.
Shane Martin, was first sent packing in 2016 with officials citing his criminal record, which included drug trafficking and assault charges.
He returned to his home country of New Zealand, where he had remained until Sunday night when he quietly tried to slip back into Australia with a lawyer in tow.
The 52-year-old reportedly claimed he has a grandmother in Tasmania with indigenous heritage.
At the start of February, the Australian government passed a law which forbids any Aboriginal person from being deported.
The former Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang president was turned back at the border.
Border Force officials sent him back to New Zealand on the first Qantas flight.
At no stage has he provided any evidence of his indigenous heritage, officials said.
Morehu-Barlow would tell friends and colleagues he was a Polynesian prince
The $16million fake prince fraudster
A fake Tahitian prince who siphoned $16million from the state government was deported on Thursday after his release from prison.
New Zealander Joel Morehu-Barlow, now 44, spent five years behind bars after he pleaded guilty in 2013 to stealing money from his employer, Queensland Health, over a four year period.
At the time, he was working as a finance officer after climbing the ranks with a fake law degree.
He was sentenced to 14 years behind bars with a non-parole period of five years.
The New Zealander was granted parole in November and released on Thursday. He was immediately deported back to his homeland, where he is expected to live with his mother in Auckland.
He had the initials HRH (His Royal Highness) on a black American Express credit card which he used at Brisbane nightclub Cloudland.
The fraudster knocked back top of the range champagne and tipped waiters $1,000, according to former staff members.
His cash-splashing habits were so outlandish that one Fortitude Valley businessman described it as an economic stimulus package for Brisbane’s restaurants, pubs and retailers.
He was able to keep a lavish lifestyle by using the money he siphoned out of Queensland Health
Shaun Wynyard (pictured) had lived in Australia for 20 years
The ice-addicted wife-basher
Shaun Wynyard was deported to New Zealand in 2018, after living in Australia for 20 years.
He was jailed for beating his Australian wife under the influence of the drug ice, and was deported back to Auckland aged 44.
His spouse was assaulted so badly she ended up in hospital.
He was given a 12-month sentence, which meant he was automatically deported under section 501 of the Migration Act.
As he landed back in New Zealand, he told the ABC he was nervous.
‘I’m a little bit scared about starting a new life here after 20 years,’ he said.
Emil Tangaroa (pictured) was deported to New Zealand in 2019, having been a member of the Bandido bikie gang
The notorious ex-Bandido bikie
Emil Tangaroa, 32, was deported last year, leaving his fiancée and three children behind.
The heavily tattooed former bikie was one of a gang of 27 who stormed a Gold Coast restaurant in the hunt for a gang rival in 2014.
A brawl broke out inside the Broadbeach venue in front of horrified customers, resulting in a number of arrests.
Furious gang members later made their way to Southport police station and demanded officers release some of their arrested mates.
At the time Tangaroa pleaded guilty to rioting and was sentenced to 150 hours community service.
Just over a year later he took part in a violent home invasion and was arrested again.
In that incident Tangaroa and an accomplice bashed a man in front of his 13-year-old son, demanding money and drug contacts.
The attack was slammed as ‘despicable and cowardly’ by Cairns Supreme Court judge Jim Henry and Tangaroa was sentenced to four years in jail.