income over A$53,900 and gives New Zealanders more access to welfare services. Between 60,000 and 80,000 New Zealanders are eligible for the new visa. This new visa reflected a policy shift to prioritise non-citizen New Zealanders residing in Australian over Asian migrants from overseas. According to figures from the Australian Home Affairs Department obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), 1,512 skilled independent visas had been issued by late February 2018 with another 7,500 visas still being processed. Australian Greens immigration spokesperson Nick McKim criticised the new immigration policy as a stealth effort by Immigration Minister Dutton to favour "English-speaking, white and wealthy" migrants. In addition, the new visa scheme was criticised by the "Ozkiwi lobby" since two thirds of New Zealanders living in Australia earned less than the qualifying rate. The Turnbull Government subsequently overturned the Skilled Independent visa in 2017. In February 2018, an Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee recommend that Australian migration laws be amended to facilitate the removal of non-citizens under the age of 18 years. Despite concerns raised by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, the Turnbull Government refused to budge on its 501 deportation policy. By May 2018, the Australian Government had accelerated its 501 deportation policy by deporting individuals on the basis of Dutton's ministerial discretion and repatriating adolescent offenders. In addition, Section 116 of the Migration Act 1958 also gave the Australian Immigration Minister the power to cancel the visas of lesser offenders without considering their ties to Australia. Between 2017 and 2019, there was a 400% increase in visa cancellations under Section 116 for offences that did not meet the Section 501 criteria. In mid-July 2018, the effect of Australia's controversial new "character" test was the subject of a controversial ABC documentary by Peter FitzSimons entitled "Don't Call Australia Home." While the New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little criticised the high deportation rate as a breach of human rights, the Australian Immigration Minister Dutton defended Australia's right to deport "undesirable" non-citizens. The ABC report was criticised by several Coalition Ministers including the now-Minister for Home Affairs Dutton and Assistant Minister of Home Affairs Alex Hawke for ignoring the crimes and victims of the deportees. Hawke also criticised Little for not warning New Zealand nationals to obey Australian law. In response, Little criticized Australia's deportation laws for lacking "humanitarian ideals." In response, Dutton vowed to continue deporting non-citizen