No Deportation & No Citizenship

 
 

In Zapata [2003] AATA 170 (21.2.03), a person sentenced to 14 years imprisonment was found not to be of good character.  The AAT concluded:

 

I do not lose sight of the fact that the applicant has been at large in the community since 1995, but in my opinion sufficient time has not yet passed for him to be regarded as a man of good character. Such a time will not come in my opinion for several years yet.

  1. It may well be that he will never be regarded as a person of good character by right thinking Australians. A reminder of his evil and depraved conduct on 10 January 1988 may well cause fear and disgust to any objective and fair minded person called upon to assess his character.
  2. Such conduct cannot be put aside as past history or a “spent” conviction to be disregarded or ignored. It is a permanent and indelible stain on his character which in my opinion will only be overcome, if at all, by constant and exemplary conduct over a very long time.
  3. In reaching this conclusion I note that the applicant is not under threat of deportation and has not had his permanent visa cancelled. The Minister has already considered the prospect of deportation and decided against it. The applicant has permanent residency still, so my decision deprives him of nothing but his actual expectation of Australian citizenship.
Barbara Davidson