The deportation of New Zealanders became a hot political issue in Australia only after the riots at Christmas Island detention centre - but it has placed no political pressure on the Australian Government, the president of Canberra's press gallery says.
The law change last December to deport more non-Australians who served time or were judged to fail a character test had support from both the Liberal Coalition and Labor opposition.
Sky News political editor David Speers said although many Australians were surprised to learn Kiwis were held on Christmas Island, there was strong support for the wider policy.
A push to give Kiwi expats a more realistic path to citizenship would be more likely to succeed than any change to the deportation threshold, Mr Speers said.
"I think a path to citizenship ... is something that most Australians would be comfortable with.
