In response, the Third National Government led by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon abolished that right by passing the Western Samoa Citizenship Act 1982, which effectively overturned the Privy Council's ruling.

[7][8] The committee did not advance a Labour and Green proposal that the estimated 15,000 to 19,000 descendants of the groups born prior to 1 January 1962 be eligible for New Zealand citizenship.

[8][7] On 10 April 2024, the Bill passed its first reading with the support of the opposition Green, Labour, Te Pāti Māori and the government coalition parties ACT and New Zealand First.

Peters told RNZ that he disagreed with Green MP and bill sponsor Teanau Tuiono's category of Samoans who would be entitled to citizenship.

[10] The Committee's membership consisted of chairperson Rachel Boyack, Cameron Brewer, Tim Costley, Andy Foster, Tom Rutherford, Lydia Sosene and Celia Wade-Brown.

[8] In its submission, the Pacific Lawyers Association had called for Parliament to expand the bill's coverage to include the 15,000 to 19,000 descendants of Samoans who had lost their New Zealand citizenship under the 1982 Act.

[8] The committee did not advance a Labour and Green proposal that the descendants of the groups born prior to 1 January 1962 be eligible for New Zealand citizenship.

The bill's passage was welcomed by its sponsor Tuiono and former National MP Arthur Anae, a Samoan New Zealander who had lobbied for the law change for the past 27 years.