The Australian government has said it makes no apology for dramatically accelerating visa cancelations, as it faces an increasing backlash in New Zealand after the policy triggered the deportation of a 15-year-old boy.
Pressure is mounting within New Zealand for the government to condemn Australia as a “rogue nation” in breach of human rights following the minor’s deportation.
The teenager was sent to New Zealand under the controversial policy by which the Australian government has been deporting non-citizens determined to have a “substantial criminal record” under a character test within the Australian Migration Act.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, who last week described the transfer of deportees as “taking the trash out” to “make Australia a safer place,” yesterday told parliament he was “proud of this government for the way in which we have kicked these people out of our country.”
Without detailing any specific cases, including the minor’s deportation, Dutton said the government had a policy of “canceling visas of dangerous criminals, of people that have committed serious offenses against Australian citizens.”
He said that the coalition had changed the law in 2014, “because we were quite amazed when we came in to government and saw the fact that very few people, particularly those who had committed the most heinous offenses against children, and women and men in this country, were allowed to stay in our country and to repeat those offenses against further victims.”
“So we make no apology for having ramped up that program and done it in a dramatic way,” Dutton said.
He added that the Australian government had been “able to cancel 309 visas for rape and other sexual offenses” during Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s and his time in the immigration portfolio.
He said there were just 43 similar cancelations in the previous six-year period.
More broadly, Dutton said that Australia had “canceled now the visas of 6,300 non-citizen criminals,” but he did not break down these figures by nationality or offense type.
“I am proud of this government for the way in which we have kicked these people out of our country. They will not offend again against Australian women and children,” he said.
Dutton’s defiant speech came after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern repeated her strenuous opposition to the deportation policy, while being clear that Australia was operating “within their rights.”
She has also resisted suggestions that it has damaged the trans-Tasman alliance, saying the relationship between the two countries was “excellent.”
However, the deportation of the 15-year-old — which Ardern was made aware of by media on Monday — has inflamed tensions and increased pressure on the prime minister to take a stronger stance against Australia.
On Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report program yesterday, New Zealand lawmaker Golriz Ghahraman said that Australia was behaving like an “outlier” and needed to be treated as one.
“They need to know they are now damaging their relationship with us, that being a traditional ally and trading partner doesn’t mean that we will continue to be an ally and partner to them as they treat us with absolute disdain in this way,” she said.
The deportation was against the “rule of law and a commitment to human rights,” and should be taken to the UN, she said.
“It is time for all what we call like-minded nations to recognize that Australia is actually behaving like a rogue nation, as we call countries who very consistently flout human rights laws, and raise this in our international forums, have our allies join together with us to condemn this and put pressure on Australia to start behaving like a good global citizen,” she said.
New Zealand lawmaker Gerry Brownlee said that, without knowing the boy’s circumstances, at face value the deportation was “pretty appalling.”
New Zealand Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft wrote on Twitter that he had “serious questions” about the deportation, though he was proud of New Zealand “for putting the child first.”
New Zealand and Australia had both signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child “and are required to put the best interests of the child first in making decisions about them,” he wrote. “What led Aus to decide his best interests were better served by deporting him here? Was it a principled decision, or just convenient?”
New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta yesterday confirmed that Wellington had been had been notified on Wednesday last week about the minor’s return.
News Web site Stuff has reported that the teenager is now in a managed isolation facility.
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