Māori actress Keisha Castle-Hughes has spoken out after her foreign-born daughter was denied citizenship to New Zealand, claiming the process felt ‘incredibly racist’.
The Oscar-nominated actress, known for starring in the 2002 film Whale Rider, was born in Australia and received her citizenship by descent, through her Māori mother.
She applied for a NZ passport for her newborn daughter in 2021 but was knocked back on the basis her daughter was born outside the country, in New York, and her own citizenship was obtained by descent.
At a hearing of the Waitangi Tribunal – which investigates breaches of the country’s foundational Treaty of Waitangi – Castle-Hughes, 35, railed against the process, which she said felt ‘incredibly racist’ and required applicants had to prove their ‘Māoridom’.
‘The government wanted proof of how much time I had spent on the marae (meeting ground) and whether I was participating in Māori culture, such as kapa haka,’ she told the tribunal, reported to the New Zealand Herald.
‘That is not quantifiable to us’.
While Castle-Hughes ultimately secured citizenship for her daughter through political intervention, she said the issue needed to be resolved for future generations.
‘The grant of citizenship for our daughter does not resolve our issues… she is in the exact same boat unless she has her future tamariki in Aotearoa,’ she said.
Māori actress Keisha Castle-Hughes (pictured) opened up on her distress after her daughter was denied New Zealand citizenship
Castle-Hughes described the NZ citizenship process as ‘incredibly racist’ during an explosive appearance at a Māori tribunal this week (pictured)
NZ Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour (above) said the actor should ‘stick to whale riding’
The two-day hearing, which opened on Wednesday, examined whether the country’s approach to Māori citizenship met the obligations of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The initiating claim was brought by John Ruddock (Ngāpuhi), also a New Zealand citizen by descent.
He told the tribunal he was subjected to ‘demeaning’ processes when he sought to secure citizenship for his US-born children.
Castle-Hughes’ appearance at the tribunal was highly-publicised and attracted criticism from a range of senior politicians.
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour on Wednesday said the actress and producer should ‘stick to whale riding’ – a reference to her acting debut in the film Whale Rider.
Like Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, he claimed a separate pathway for Māori citizenship would undermine the idea of one law for all.
‘I mean, you know, the problem is that we are all New Zealanders. We all have the same rights before the law. The rules apply equally to everybody,’ he said.
‘When some people try to say I have different rights as a New Zealander because my ancestors got here at a different time, that’s what I’m opposed to.’
Daily Mail has contacted Castle-Hughes.
