TWELVE years after laws were passed thwarting New Zealanders crossing the Tasman from becoming Australian citizens, momentum is gathering to overturn the "bizarre" imbalance in rights between the two countries.
More than 100,000 New Zealanders have moved across the ditch since 2001, only to find that if they fall on hard times they can't get state support such as sickness or unemployment benefits, student allowances and a raft of other assistance packages.
That's despite New Zealanders paying an estimated $A2.5 billion in tax each year.
Those behind the www.ozkiwi2001.org website say it is an injustice, when the 68,000 Australians living in NZ can qualify for citizenship and corresponding support relatively easily.
An online petition, calling for law changes to allow Kiwis "a fair pathway to citizenship in Australia", has raised nearly 15,000 signatures in less than two months.
Petition co-founder, Adelaide school teacher Erina Anderson, warns the situation could create a huge social problem for Australia with the number of homeless New Zealanders rising.
"There's no safety net and it has destroyed many lives and many people are in the throes of losing everything," she told AAP.
Anderson, who moved across in 2007, had initially believed she would be able to become a citizen eventually, only to find it was impossible after a lot of digging.
"It seemed really bizarre... 12 years after people are very confused. People are coming to Australia thinking they will be treated fairly and equally."
The lobby started off in May as a Facebook page to discuss the issue, driven by frustration at finding accurate information. The Facebook page has more than 11,000 followers, but has been overtaken in numbers by the petition.
"Lots of people have tried over the years but this is the first time we have united as a people and it's snowballing."
Organisers hope to hold a national awareness day on February 26 next year, building up to pressuring the government to change the laws in 2015.
NZ Prime Minister John Key tried to raise the matter with his then counterpart Julia Gillard in February, but Gillard rejected the idea of changing the law.
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