Wonderful wizardry of Oz

Chris Hipkins airily declared it was a "blimmin' good day" for expatriate Kiwis after Australia opened up citizenship to the approximately 700,000 living there. But it omitted something: it was also blimmin' good for Aussies but likely not for New Zealand and those who remained behind.

- BERNARD LAGAN

With New Zealand on the cusp of the recession Australia is likely to avoid, there are the makings of the return of the perfect storm when a more vibrant Australian economy, its worker shortages and higher wages sucked up New Zealanders at record rates.

At its peak, well over 50,000 Kiwis a year were moving to Australia. They came, braving Australia's quite brutal efforts to stem the flow, such as its 2001 decision that Kiwis be denied access to a range of government welfare measures - including unemployment and sickness benefits and citizenship pathways being blocked for many Kiwis.

That all changed late last month when Australia, on the eve of a visit by the New Zealand Prime Minister, announced that all Kiwis, from July, will be able to become citizens once they've lived in Australia for four years. They will get the same welfare benefits as Australians.