Draft:Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill

The Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill is proposed New Zealand Act of Parliament that that aims to "restore entitlement to New Zealand citizenship for people born in Samoa between 1924 and 1949." The bill was introduced by Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand Member of Parliament Teanau Tuiono. It passed its first reading on 10 April 2024 with the support of all parliamenatary parties except the governing National Party.

Provisions
The Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill proposes restoring citizenship eligibility to a group of older Samoans born between 1924 and 1949 when Samoa was still a New Zealand League of Nations mandate territory.

Background
In 1982, the Privy Council ruled that because individuals born in Western Samoa when it was a New Zealand League of Nations mandate territory were treated by New Zealand law as "natural-born British subjects," they were entitled to New Zealand citizenship when it was first created in 1948. In response, the Third National Government led by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon abolished that right by passing the Western Samoa Citizenship Act 1982, which effectively overturned the Privy Council's ruling. This ruling was upheld by successive New Zealand governments.

Legislative history
On 10 April 2024, the Bill passed its first reading with the support of the opposition Green, Labour, Te Pāti Māori and the government coalition parties ACT and New Zealand First. The governing National Party opposed the bill.

On 16 May, NZ First leader Winston Peters confirmed that his party would continue to support the Bill through Parliament's select committee but said that some changes were still needed to the Bill. Peters told RNZ that he disagreed with Green MP and bill sponsor Teanau Tuiono's category of Samoans who would be entitled to citizenship. In response Tuiono said he was willing to work with New Zealand First "to see what we can do to make this practical for everybody that's engaging in the process as well."

Reactions
Samoan Christian Fellowship secretary Reverend Aneterea Sa'u supported the Restoring Citizenship amendment bill, stating "for me it's about justice, it's about fairness...we're not looking for money..." He urged Samoan New Zealanders to reach out to their MPs after the Bill passed its first reading.

In late May 2024, Samoan community group "Mau a Samoa i le Sitiseni 2024" set up stations at shopping centres and community centres around South Auckland and West Auckland to encourage people to make submissions supporting the proposed bill.