Jacinda Ardern accused of 'playing to the crowd' over outrage at Australian-raised criminal deportation

February 21, 2021

NZME’s Fran O’Sullivan believes Jacinda Ardern’s outrage at Australia has a manufactured element to it and is becoming repetitive.

The Prime Minister has been accused of "playing to the crowd" in New Zealand over her outrage at a New Zealand-born, Australia-raised criminal losing her citizenship across the Tasman.

Australia revoked the citizenship of a woman detained at the Turkish border this week, who reportedly attempted to enter from Syria.

Ardern explained that Suhayra Aden left New Zealand at the age of six and was a resident in Australia "from that time, became an Australian citizen, left from Australia to Syria and travelled on an Australian passport".

"This is an individual known to Australian and New Zealand authorities for some time,” Ardern said on Tuesday.

"It is wrong that New Zealand should shoulder the responsibility for a situation involving a woman who has not lived in New Zealand since she was six, has resided in Australia since that time, has her family in Australia and left for Syria from Australia on her Australian passport," Ardern said, furious over the situation.

It comes after the Turkish Ministry of Defence tweeted that three New Zealand nationals tried to "enter our country illegally from Syria".

Footage released shows a woman and two children. It added they were caught by border guards and had terrorist links.

"Australia has abdicated its responsibilities in relation to this person and I have personally made that point to Prime Minister (Scott) Morrison."

But NZME’s Head of Business Fran O’Sullivan says Ardern “savaged” Morrison over Australian deportation issues and this week “played to the crowd” in New Zealand.

“It’s starting to get a little bit worn,” O’Sullivan told Q+A with Jack Tame.

She says Australia has had its most recent deportation policies in place since 2014 and believes authorities should be warning Kiwis in Australia that they “will get turfed out” if they don’t play by the rules.

“Australia is taking a very, very sort of assertive and strong positioning itself and it’s got a story to tell to its own people too,” O’Sullivan said.

In 2014, Australian immigration law was updated to give the Minister for Home Affairs the power to deport people if they posed a risk to Australian society.

But Tame suggested both Prime Ministers made forceful comments over the latest issue - playing to their own “domestic audiences” and the trans-Tasman relationship isn’t as fraught as it seems.

O’Sullivan maintains younger people need educating so that if they become involved in “escapades" like ISIS, there will be obvious consequences.

“You’ve got to make it clear, that no, it’s not okay.”

She also made the point that New Zealand also deports people and “you don’t hear too much push-back on that”.

For the full Q+A panel discussion, watch the video above.  


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