New Zealand First has announced a policy to limit voting rights to New Zealand citizens only, removing eligibility for permanent residents and visa holders.
Party leader Winston Peters made the announcement at a public meeting in Warkworth on Sunday. The policy would end a provision that currently allows legal residents to vote if they have lived in New Zealand continuously for at least 1 year and hold a visa that does not impose a required departure date. That group currently includes holders of work or study visas and permanent residents.
Peters said voting rights "should be a privilege of those who have sworn allegiance to New Zealand, and who have made the commitment to make New Zealand their home and their future".
He told the meeting that permanent residence confers rights to live, work, study and build a life in New Zealand, but citizenship embodies the official commitment of allegiance, belonging, responsibility and democratic authority. Peters said the distinction between permanent residence and citizenship should matter again.
The NZ First leader also said it was a problem that permanent residents who completed a standard application could vote after 2 years, asking: "They can vote on who the government is, they can vote on who the local council is, they can even vote in referendums that would fundamentally change the social fabric of our society. Is this what we really mean by democracy in our country?"