If it wasn’t bad enough that New Zealand crushed Australia’s dreams in the Rugby World Cup, one of their most senior politicians has shown up in Canberra to berate us over the treatment of Kiwi expats.

The worst thing? He’s got a point.

New Zealand leader of the opposition Andrew Little touched down in Australia on Monday to lobby the Turnbull government over the second-class status of New Zealanders living in Australia.

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On Tuesday, the NZ Labour leader appeared before a number of parliamentary committees and met Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

Queensland LNP senator Ian Macdonald, chair of the parliamentary committee that recommended last year’s law that has led to the detention and deportation of New Zealanders, suggested as a solution that the country should team up with Australia.

Andrew Little is not happy with Australia. Photo: Getty

“I would love to have New Zealand join us perhaps as the seventh and eighth state – you can have two,” he said.

“And what a wonderful country it would then be, and I wouldn’t need a passport to get across to Queenstown with the wineries, it would be great.”

Mr Little also plans to visit the Villawood detention centre to speak with Kiwi detainees.

Department of Immigration figures reveal that as at August 31, there were 184 New Zealanders confined in Australian detention centres, with NZ’s Prime Minister claiming up to 1000 are in line to be deported.

Mr Little’s domestic political adversary, Prime Minister John Key, criticised the trip, claiming it would endanger diplomatic negotiations currently underway between the two countries.

Mr Key and Mr Little might differ over the best way to lobby the Australian government, but they both agree that Australia treats its Kiwi residents far more harshly than New Zealand treats Aussie expats.

So what are those differences?

Kiwis miss out on voting rights

New Zealanders can be deported from Australia if they serve 12 months or more in prison. Photo: Getty

For starters, Australians living in New Zealand get to vote after a single year of residency, while in Australia no such automatic right to vote exists.

Australians can become Kiwi citizens after five years of residency, but again, there is no set time period for Kiwis to obtain Australian citizenship.

Tax without the benefits

Even for those not set to be booted out of the country, the playing field is by no means even.

Kiwis living in Australia on “non-protected” visas pay tax just as Australians do, however they are ineligible for most benefits.

Mr Little told NZ Newswire that New Zealanders have to pay national disability insurance premiums but aren’t entitled to make claims.

“It’s grossly unfair,” he said.

“It’s like our ACC – and even Australians on holiday in New Zealand have full access to that.”

No automatic path to citizenship

New Zealanders have to apply to become permanent residents and meet criteria related to skill shortages in Australia, a process that costs thousands of dollars with no guarantee of success.

That is just the start, however, if they want to become citizens.

It isn’t an easy road to Australian citizenship for New Zealanders. Photo: Getty

While Aussies become citizens of New Zealand after five years, there is no set time period for Kiwis to obtain Australian citizenship.

Mr Little argues that the $5000 non-refundable deposit New Zealanders must put forward to become a citizen is a major disincentive.

“For a lot of Kiwis, it’s a risk they’re not prepared to take so they don’t apply for citizenship,” he said.

Deportation on character grounds

The lack of citizenship has plenty of practical consequences, most notably facilitating the recent decision to deport 12 New Zealanders on character grounds, despite several of them having lived in Australia their entire lives.

The rule, introduced last year, can only be applied to New Zealanders who have served a 12-month or greater sentence in prison.

It seems the better treatment New Zealand dishes out to Australians is having an effect: the latest migration figures showing that for the first time in 24 years more people moved from Australia to New Zealand than the other way round.

Statistics New Zealand figures showed that during the 12 months to October 2015 there was an annual net gain of 62,500 people.

The New Zealanders scored a small victory in October when during his first visit to the country as Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull announced long-term residents would become eligible for student loans, and promised to speed up the review process of New Zealanders awaiting deportation.