New Zealand. Australia's "little brother." In the sense that Australia makes fun of NZ almost constantly, takes their celebrities without asking, and always teases them about having sex with sheep.And, for a long time, New Zealand has put up with all of it. They've put up with the fact New Zealanders can't receive welfare, public health care, disability insurance, or domestic student loans. That they can't vote, join the army, or get any disaster relief from the government—despite the fact the 600,000 or so of them are paying $5 billion a year in tax to the Australian government.But now, it seems, something has shifted. And under their newly crowned Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, NZ is pushing back.Talking to Sky News, Ardern said she would end a reciprocal study agreement with Australia if the Turnbull government pushes ahead with proposed changes to NZ student subsidies. Announced in this year's budget, the plan would see the cost of studying in Australia triple for New Zealanders."If we do find New Zealanders aren't able to access tertiary education the same way as Australians currently do, there will be flow-on effects here," Ardern told Sky. "I hope it doesn't come to that—I hope that we have that degree of mutual policy and access that we have had in the past."Oz Kiwi, the peak body fighting for the rights of New Zealanders living in Australia, welcomed Ardern's stronger stance but didn't agree with her solution."We were pleased to see incoming NZ PM Jacinda Ardern raising the issues Kiwis living in Australia face," representative Joanne Cox told VICE. "However, removing rights of Australians residing in NZ is not the way to address those issues."Cox says New Zealanders living in Australia are treated as "second class citizens.""Approximately 200,000 have no pathway to permanent residency and will remain in limbo, locked out from govt services and society security," she explains. "For example, [they] must pay the NDIS levy but cannot access the services it provides unless [they're a] permanent resident or citizen. They can't access public housing or women's refuges."These are all rights Australians living in New Zealand are automatically entitled to—no questions asked. In fact, after five years living in New Zealand, Australians need to pay just $480 to become citizens.So where to from here? Well, Jacinda Ardern has said she'll soon visit Australia and Oz Kiwi want to meet her while she's in town—to make their case for a simple path to permanent residency for kiwis in Australia.Ardern will also meet with Malcolm Turnbull, which should prove interesting after revelations Ardern's party leaked Barnaby Joyce's Kiwi heritage to the Australian media. But it could also be a watershed moment for NZ—the moment they finally assert that our "special relationship" has to go both ways.
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