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Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono speaks during the first reading of his MP’s bill, “A Bill to restore citizenship taken away by the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982”, on April 10, 2024.
photo: Johnny Blades
The public comments were solicited on bill This will provide a pathway to New Zealand citizenship for a group of Samoans born between 1924 and 1949.
Public hearings on “Restoration of citizenship lost under the Citizenship Act” will begin on Monday.
In 1982, the Privy Council ruled that because people born in Western Samoa were considered “natural-born British citizens” under New Zealand law, they were entitled to citizenship when New Zealand was founded in 1948 – but the government at the time overturned the ruling.
The bill introduced by Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono aims to restore the citizenship rights of those affected.
Last month, Tuiono said ‘The community wants to resolve this issue’.
The Secretary of the Samoa Christian Fellowship, Rev. Aneterea Sa’u, said the bill was about “Trust and fairness” and encourage The Samoan community reached out to local MPs and offered their support as the bill progressed.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said his party would support the bill. the way.
The Governance and Administration Committee received approximately 24,500 submissions on the Bill.
Hearings will be held in person and via Zoom in Wellington on June 24, 26 and July 9, and there will also be a hearing in South Auckland on July 1.
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