Jacinda Ardern is certainly racking up the achievements on her trip to Australia. She has triumphed where few brave souls have ever succeeded: uniting Australia’s two major parties…
Against her.
In these days of hyper-partisanship especially, there are usually not many issues that bring Labor and the Liberals within cooee of each other. However, for once both sides agree: Ardern can shut the hell up.
The Coalition and Labor have united against Jacinda Ardern’s calls to stop the deportation of New Zealanders who have committed offences in Australia.
The New Zealand Prime Minister says the deportation of some convicted criminals born in her country — even if they have resided in Australia for decades — has had a “corrosive” effect on the Australia-New Zealand relationship.
But Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton both defended the longstanding policy this morning.
“We haven’t argued for change in this area,” the Opposition Leader told the Nine Network.
Which is a polite way of saying, “Jacinda, you’re on your own”.
The New Zealand leader said while some deportations were justified, she did not want criminals who had spent most of their lives in Australia in her country.
Oddly enough, Australia doesn’t much want New Zealand’s career criminals and outlaw bikers, either.
The Home Affairs Minister told the Nine Network today there would be no change from the government.
“We need to stand up for Australians and the New Zealand Prime Minister is rightly doing that for her people,” he said.
“But where we have Australian citizens who are falling victim in certain circumstances where people are sexually offending against children for example, we have had a big push to try to deport those paedophiles and people who have committed those crimes.
“I believe strongly that the Australian people would support that stance as well.”
Ardern has also gone notably quiet on her previous begging for some photogenic refugees to virtue-signal next to.