Winston Peters received a petition which calls for visas on arrival for Pacific Islanders outside Parliament on Wednesday Photo: RNZ Pacific
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says he is committed to helping Pacific nationals get easier access to this country.
Peters received a petition which calls for visas on arrival for Pacific Islanders outside Parliament on Wednesday.
The petitioner, former National Party MP Anae Arthur Anae, and his supporters drove down from Auckland and held a demonstration on the grounds of parliament this morning before handing over the petition.
He said his party is committed to working on the request, saying New Zealand's current immigration settings are no way to treat its Pacific cousins.
"All the Pacific people want is a fair go, equivalent to what other nations are getting, and they're not getting it," Peters told reporters.
"We just got the petition. We got work to do. It'll take a while, but we'll not let up until we've been successful."
The petition calls for people from six Pacific nations - Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu - to be issued a short-term visa on arrival in New Zealand.
Anae Arthur Anae Photo: Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor
Arthur Anae said this would match the NZeTA that citizens from over 60 visa-waiver countries are eligible for
The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said people with passports from Pacific Islands Forum countries can visit New Zealand from Australia for up to three months with an NZeTA, on an eligible Australian visa.
