Australian politicians at this point in time, are sailing perilously close to the winds of human rights with their position on chucking out all and sundry when it comes to their laws being broken. And we can all understand that, those of us who are law-abiding citizens, for the most. You can't put a bullet in them, but you can take them by the proverbial ear and send them back from whence they came. Or to Christmas Island.
That a fair few of them are flying feet first back to New Zealand is understandable. But just lately there have been some examples where both we as a nation have to put our hands up and say, "Not our circus, not our monkeys," and ensure our laws can be adjusted to take that stance legally.
The two latest are the cases of Eileen Creamer, a 60 year old South African born woman who was found guilty of defensive homicide in killing her husband in Moe, Victoria in 2008. She is to be released and, we are being told, deported back to New Zealand. Hang on a minute. New Zealand? She spent less than five years here. One could almost wonder if she and her husband who were married in South Africa in 1997, only came to New Zealand to get a residency to get the foot in the door to Australia. This does happen more than people think. She should be being sent back to South Africa.
The next one this week is teenage killer Amanda Pemberton. She left New Zealand with her parents when she was three years old. She is, to all intents and purposes, a product of the lucky country. After being part of a five-strong pack of feral teenagers who brutally murdered 18 year old Tracey Muzyk in 1996, Pemberton is being released 22 years after being sentenced to life imprisonment and her reviews comes with a warning that if she doesn't have strong support from our already limping mental health systems, she will remain vulnerable to depression and drug use and be likely to commit small crimes. She is a New Zealander by birth, but she is a product of Australia.
Then we have cases like 19 year old Caleb Maraku, who has returned to Tokoroa after the public backlash from his antics after his cowardly one punch attack outside a Gold Coast club last year. He left here as a 13 year old
child and is coming back as someone New Zealand has to grit their teeth and bear with. The public here have as much wish to house him as Australia did. None.
One can understand the hard push the West Australia police are doing at the moment with the deportation last week of five Mongrel Mob members. Who in their right mind would want these blights of society in their neighbourhood? The same applies to the hard work done by New Zealand police (even if it hasn't been successful) to stop the Australian-based Bandidos and Rebels from the doing the same here.
But there does come a time when, as a nation, we do have to step up and tell our neighbours in the strongest possible terms that when people like Creamer and Pemberton break the laws of Australia, then they must be dealt with in Australia. And we have to back that up by revoking the residencies of the Creamers of this world and refusing entry to the Pembertons. If we have to do that by automatically revoking citizenship, as Canada does, after a certain period of years spent living overseas, then I'm all for that. Because at the point Australia has to deal with the results of the environment that the criminals who have grown up in their country and in the second case, our laws have to change that an automatic revocation of residency occurs when someone is convicted of any major criminal charge, such as murder, GBH, drug running, rape etc.
But at the moment, it seems it's an absolute free-for-all in terms of returning damaged goods.
We can't be seen as an easy target and our laws do have to change. But I also have to wonder if our Let's Do This brigade have the intestinal fortitude to do it.
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