September 30, 2015
No safety net for Maori in Oz
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A specialist in Maori and legal systems says Maori are disproportionately likely to be affected by Australia's harsh new visa laws.
More than 200 New Zealanders are in custody awaiting deportation across the Tasman, including about 75 who have been shipped to remote Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
Victoria University law lecturer Mamari Stephens says a recent change to the good character visa test means people can be deported if sentenced to a year or more in jail.
That can include minor offences, such as driving while disqualified, it's cumulative, so shorter sentences are added up, and retrospective, so they can be deported even if they served their time a decade ago.
Ms Stephens says the new rules affect New Zealanders more than migrants from other countries because the so called special relationship with Australia means they are less likely to take out citizenship.
"Thirty seven percent of New Zealanders have taken out Australian citizenship compared to other ethnicities and Maori again are even less likely to take up citizenship. Now because we do not have that tendency to have that safety net of citizenship, Maori are disproportionately more likely to be on the hard end of this kind of policy," she says.
Mamari Stephens says it's easy to say the deportees are criminals, but in many cases it's just people making stupid mistakes.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MAMARI STEPHENS CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MzM2Mjg=
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