Māori actress Keisha Castle-Hughes has launched a blistering attack on New Zealand’s citizenship system after her daughter was refused a passport, branding the process “incredibly racist”.

The Oscar-nominated star of Whale Rider was born in Australia to a Māori mother and secured New Zealand citizenship by descent.

But when she applied for citizenship for her newborn daughter in 2021, officials turned her down because the child had been born in New York and Castle-Hughes’ own status was not through birth in the country.

Speaking at a Waitangi Tribunal hearing this week, the 35-year-old described the demands made of her as demeaning and culturally offensive.

“The government wanted proof of how much time I had spent on the marae (meeting ground) and whether I was participating in Māor

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