The Police Federation of Australia has backed proposed changes to the Migration Act 1958 which will make it easier to cancel the visas of non-citizens who commit serious crimes. Citing the case of a Tongan citizen, Motekiai Tuafahema, who was convicted of manslaughter of a Sydney police officer on traffic patrol, and was on parole at the time the officer was killed, the PFA also welcomed the additional powers for the immigration Minister to cancel visas in the national interest. Taufahema has spent 12 of his 21 years in Australia behind bars and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court upheld his appeals against visa cancellation until the Minister stepped in to finally cancel his visa. The law plainly needs strenghening so that this absurd situation doesn’t happen in the future.
To view the PFA submission for the Inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014 Click here
