National MP Cameron Brewer speaks during the First Reading of the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, 10 April 2024. Photo: Johnny Blades
A Samoan community leader in New Zealand says the citizenship bill that aims to restore entitlement to New Zealand citizenship for people born in Samoa between 1924 and 1949 is "about trust and fairness".
Samoan Christain Fellowship secretary Reverend Aneterea Sa'u was part of the Samoan community contingent in Parliament on Wednesday night alongside several current and former Samoan MPs.
Sa'u said he was emotional about the outcome after the Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill passed its first reading.
He said the elders still alive - around 5000 - who the bill affects deserve the opportunity to become New Zealand citizens.
"For me it's about justice, it's about fairness…we're not looking for money, but it's about trust and fairness."
Sa'u is encouraging the Samoan community to reach out to their local MPs to back the bill as it moves through the process.
ACT, NZ First support bill
In a shock move, ACT and New Zealand First supported the bill from Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono, while their coalition partner, National, was the only party to oppose it, making it 74 to 49.
Bill to restore NZ citizenship to those born in Samoa between 1924 - 1949 passes first reading
New Zealand First MP Casey Costello said it was important for her party that the bill was considered.
"I've lived and worked most of my life in South Auckland and we are enriched and blessed by the contribution the Samoan community makes to our schools to our communities to our collective organisations," Costello said.
Te Pāti Māori backed it and Labour's Carmel Sepuloni said supporting the bill was in the spirit of the dawn raids apology.
"Of the back of the significant contributions Samoans have made to Aotearoa, it is the right thing to do," she told Parliament.
Problematic precedent
But National didn't support it, making it the first time the party has been out-voted since coming to power.
MP Cameron Brewer argued the bill would set a problematic legal precedent.
"The governments of the past of many stripes of many different colours, of red, blue, green, Te Pāti Māori have not taken this up and we would argue legally the arguments have been exhausted over a 42-year period."
In 1982, the Privy Council ruled that because those born in Western Samoa were treated by New Zealand law as "natural-born British subjects", they were entitled to New Zealand citizenship when it was first created in 1948.
However, the National Party-led government under Robert Muldoon took that away with the Western Samoa Citizenship Act 1982, effectively overturning the Privy Council ruling.
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono speaks during the First Reading of his Member's Bill, the Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, 10 April 2024. Photo: Johnny Blades
Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono said his bill will give the opportunity for citizenship to no more than 5000 people.
"The cohort of people that we are talking about, they're getting older and the youngest of those elders is 75 now and there's not many of them left, so the opportunity to address this injustice is now," he told RNZ.
Tuiono said he didn't hear a reason as to why National didn't support the bill and he wasn't sure if Brewer had even read the bill.
"Hopefully we can have better adept conversations with him through the select committee."
However, Tuiono said he was very happy with the outcome.
"At the center of this bill was fairness," he said.
"We have group of people who were New Zealand citizens, they had that citizenship taken off them.
"I'm really happy that communities are going to be able to have their say at select committee."