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NEW Zealand government amnesty to illegal overstayers could cause problems for Australia, if those people use New Zealand's citizenship to settle in Australia.
This is possible under the agreement between the two countries which allows free flow of people across the Tasman Sea.
As a result, Australia's Minister for Immigration Mr Philip Ruddock has refused to rule out reviewing the long-standing immigration agreement with New Zealand.
New Zealand's decision to offer an amnesty to illegal immigrants poses major problems for Australia. Up to 11,000 mostly Pacific Island illegals use New Zealand as a stepping stone to gain easy entry into Australia.
Effectively, there is free migration between the two countries and once a foreigner has lived for three years in New Zealand to gain citizenship they can move to Australia.
New Zealanders last year comprised 29.3 per cent of all settler arrivals in Australia, making them the largest single group of immigrants.
Immigration figures also show that last financial year 35,495 New Zealanders settled in Australia - up 30 per cent on the previous year - while 12,000 Australians moved there.
In total, more than 330,000 New Zealand nationals live in Australia. Mr Ruddock defended himself against claims of racism after attacking the amnesty in New Zealand.
He said the decision would mean almost half the 22,000 mostly Pacific Island overstayers in New Zealand getting valid residency permits.
This left them free to take advantage of travel across the Tasman. "Charges of racism are easy to make, but they are the last refuge of those who have no credible argument," he said.
"We take the view that people should meet selection criteria that are non-discriminatory. We don't use as a selection criteria unlawful entry as a basis for advantaging over others."
The amnesty is being offered to overstayers who:
¥ Arrived in New Zealand before October 1, 1999
¥ Are either married to or in a de facto relationship with a New Zealand citizen or resident
¥ Are the parent of a child born in New Zealand or have been in the country for five years.
After October 1, any overstayers who do not meet these criteria can be picked up by immigration officers and sent home on the next available flight.
New Zealand's Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel said that Mr Ruddock had misunderstood the policy. She said it would not lead to an increase in immigration to New Zealand.
Mrs Dalziel tried to play down Mr Ruddock's fears of any "back-door" migration to Australia. She said it would be unreasonable to evict people who were properly settled in New Zealand but insisted it would be a one-off measure. A similar amnesty policy was used in the early 1990s.