Chelsea Manning granted NZ work visa

Chelsea Manning, the convicted classified document leaker, has been granted a work visa for New Zealand after being denied entry to Australia. Photo / AP

US leaker and activist Chelsea Manning has been granted a visa to speak at two public events in New Zealand this weekend, Immigration New Zealand has confirmed.

The former US intelligence analyst will also speak to Australian audiences in Melbourne and Brisbane via satellite link as officials there have not yet decided whether to grant her a visa to go there.

Australian promoter Think Inc said it had received Manning's visa from Immigration New Zealand overnight and Manning would appear at events in Auckland on September 8 and Wellington on September 9.

Former MP and Carterton mayor Georgina Beyer would host the events, Think Inc said in a statement.

Immigration New Zealand confirmed it had approved her specific purpose work visa.

Manning was unable to obtain a visa in time to enter Australia, and she will speak to audiences via satellite link from Auckland - Melbourne on September 7 and Brisbane on September 11.

"I commend the New Zealand Government for making a progressive decision and look forward to engaging in intelligent discourse around Manning's story," Mikee Tucker of Think Inc said.

Manning was subject to character provisions in the Immigration Act and was granted a special direction to apply for New Zealand visa last week.

National's immigration spokesman and former immigration minister Michael Woodhouse earlier called for Manning to be banned from New Zealand because of her criminal record, sparking fresh debate over who should be allowed to enter New Zealand for public speaking events.

Manning served seven of a 35-year prison sentence for theft and espionage after releasing hundreds of thousands of classified or sensitive documents to Wikileaks. Her sentence was commuted in 2017 by US president Barack Obama.

Immigration NZ said in its decision to grant Manning a special direction that while she was convicted of a serious offence, she had not reoffended since her release from prison and the likelihood of her offending while in New Zealand was considered low.

Think Inc director Suzi Jamil said last week she had received a Notice of Intention to Consider Refusal under s501 of the Migration Act from the Australian Government over Manning's application to enter that country.

Manning was also banned from entering Canada last year but in May was granted a temporary permit to go there for a public engagement.