An infirm Australian woman wrongly deported to the Philippines would probably seek more than A$1 million (US$768,000) in compensation from the government, her lawyer said.
Vivian Alvarez, a Philippines-born dual citizen since 1986, was mistakenly identified as an illegal immigrant and deported in 2001 following a car accident. She was tracked down last month in a hospice outside Manila and has since been negotiating with the government conditions for her return.
Australian Broadcasting Corp TV reported late Monday it had evidence that Alvarez was suffering a partially severed spinal cord when she was deported and was apparently unable to sign her own name. She used thumb prints to endorse identity papers, the ABC reported in its Lateline program.
Kim Beazley, leader of the opposition Labor Party, slammed the government yesterday for bungling the case.
"When that sort of thing is found out, when this sort of gross incompetence by a government takes place, then we, the taxpayers, pay a penalty," he said.
Alvarez's Australian lawyer Marcus Einfeld said she was keen to return to Australia where she has two sons but the government would not commit to care for her beyond six months.
Einfeld, a former judge, said he had a compensation figure in mind but had not asked the government for a lump sum.
"It's a substantial sum and, yes, it certainly probably is more than a million dollars," Einfeld said.
Alvarez's lawyers had been unable to find a precedent in the Western world of a citizen being wrongly deported so the question of compensation remained untested, Einfeld said. There could also be an added claim for punitive damages, he said.
The government had not admitted liability, but it could not deny it, he said.
"They know very well where the responsibility lies," Einfeld said. "And they also know that there's no defense to the wrongful deportation of someone from the country and that they're bound morally as well as legally to compensate this woman for her losses."
Lateline said it had medical report signed by a social worker quoting a Sydney doctor that described Alvarez as a "partial quadriplegic" and detailing her spine damage.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone's spokesman said yesterday that Alvarez had been certified fit before she was flown to Manila: "The department sought and obtained a medical certificate to say that she was medically fit to travel before being removed."
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