Photo: RNZ
"It's been pure politics. And it's been an unedifying spectacle" - Greg Barns, Australian Lawyers Alliance
New Zealand has been hit by a 501 boomerang, with Australia backtracking this month on its commitment around deportations.
As successive Prime Ministers swapped sports jerseys and talked up the special relationship, the issue of people in Australia who have practically little to no connection to New Zealand being deported here has nagged away.
Four and a half years ago, Jacinda Ardern memorably took Scott Morrison to task.
"Do not deport your people and your problems," she said.
While the issue of 501 deportations - named after the section of the Australian Migration Act - applies to any non-citizen, New Zealand had lobbied for change due to our proximity, our close relationship with Australia, and the disparities in pathways to citizenship.
A move to a 'common sense' approach to deportations from the Anthony Albanese government meant those fractures were starting to heal.
Primary consideration was given to the person's ties to Australia, in weighing up whether to deport them.
Australia also providing a pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders was seen as a further step to play fair.
Read more:
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- Mess engulfing Australia's immigration minister harks back to goodwill gesture towards New Zealand
- 'A blimmin' good day for Kiwis living in Australia' - Hipkins on citizenship changes
But this year, across the ditch, it has blown up into a political headache.
Several non-citizens with criminal records were escaping deportation, including people with child sex abuse and murder convictions.
The pressure was piling on the Albanese government, with opposition leader Peter Dutton (who once described the deportations of "taking the trash out") accusing Albanese of putting his "sycophantic" relationship with Ardern over the safety of Australians.
So, last week, Australian immigration minister Andrew Giles announced a u-turn.
Instead of someone's ties to Australia, the safety of the Australian community is the highest priority, and any appeals would likely be insufficient in the face of the most serious charges, such as family and sexual violence.
Greg Barns is a spokesperson for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, and has helped a number of prospective deportees with their appeals.
He said the Australian government had crumbled under pressure.
"It's been pure politics. And it's been an unedifying spectacle. One of the problems in Australia is that for a couple of decades now, there's been really crass politics played on the issue of migration, and some of the media in Australia has been particularly bad," he said.
"These are people with no connection to New Zealand. What happens is they go back to New Zealand, they have often in the cases I've done, they have no family, or they might have distant family in New Zealand but no real connection. They don't have employment, they're essentially dumped at the airport and told 'now find your own way in New Zealand.'"
While Christopher Luxon suspected change was coming, and had already raised his concerns with Anthony Albanese, he was not given a heads-up on the day the announcement was made.
Instead, he had to hastily organise a media stand-up at the end of his Pacific trip.
Standing outside a Nadi pharmaceutical business was maybe not how the Prime Minister wanted to talk about such a significant shift of the diplomatic dial.
"We regret the decision that Australia has made," Luxon said.
"It's just not right that people who have no connection to New Zealand are deported to New Zealand."
While Luxon has been reassured that common sense will still be applied, it is still early days to know what that new interpretation of common sense actually means.
Luxon points out that Australia is, of course, well within its rights to make its own decisions as a sovereign nation.
New Zealand, too, has its own deportation policies.
But it is the to-and-fro, the give and take, that has put a snag in the relationship.
Law professor Alexander Gillespie from the University of Waikato said the announcement was not made in good faith.
"I think it was handled badly. I think it was already corrosive to the relationship between New Zealand and Australia, which overall is a fantastic relationship. But we need to have more mechanisms where we can co-operate more, find more middle ground, whereby we can reduce this blanket approach," he said.
Gillespie said New Zealand had been caught up in a broad-brush approach from the Australian government to look tough on crime, and driven by public reaction.
"You don't want your immigration to be set by public opinion. But unfortunately that's what we're seeing right now," he said.
The lobbying from New Zealand to change the policy was partly driven by attempts to crack down on crime here.
The deportations were blamed for a surge in gang membership in New Zealand.
People arrived here, with no family or a place to call home. So some found a family of their own, and joined gangs.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who was Prime Minister when the common sense approach became law, is concerned the u-turn could put more pressure on police.
"New Zealand didn't make them into criminal offenders, Australia did," he said.
"You couldn't doubt it that the deportation of 501s from Australia to New Zealand has really heightened gang tension in New Zealand, heightened the amount of gang-related in New Zealand, and so a resumption of that policy is likely to continue to add pressure in that area."
Ultimately, New Zealand has been caught in the middle of an Australian political firestorm.
While the interpretation of the new rule is still to be ironed out, New Zealand will now have to re-adjust to something it thought it had left behind.
In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Giles Dexter looks at Australia backtracking on its commitment to New Zealand over 501 deportations.
Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.
