A criminal defence lawyer says common sense is prevailing as Australia looks at reducing the number of 501 deportees – but she would like to see the changes become law.
New Zealand Police data shows an average of 18 people a month have been deported to New Zealand in the past year - a decrease from a high of just under 44 in mid-2018.
Canberra decided in March to put more emphasis on a person's ties to Australia and their length of time living there when considering whether to deport them.
Lawyer Marie Dyhrberg told The Mike Hosking Breakfast that the changes were only policy at this point, but she hoped they would become law.
”It's only a ministerial directive. The answer would be to make [it] legislative as part of the Immigration Act in Australia as part of consideration whether or not to cancel a visa," she said.
The laws around deporting criminals to New Zealand have had a "dreadful impact" on many people, according to Dyhrberg, saying some deportees did not have a criminal record. a
"You can be considered [for deportation] if you have socially undesirable connections to a group," she said.
As Dyhrberg explained, this meant a prospect could have a partner, friend, or relative anywhere in the country and if they were considered to have gang or criminal connections - not even a conviction themselves – the prospect could face deportation.
She said the "hard-line" immigration approach stranded deportees in a country with no support system and so less able to bounce back onto their feet.
"You become resentful and you can't manage, you don't have a support system in New Zealand, you can't navigate how to get benefits to start with [and] you can't get support.”
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