Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I just have one question of clarification for the minister. One of the cases I gave in my last contribution was of a young refugee who arrived in Australia as a child at the age of 10. He was convicted and sentenced, but his sentence was reduced to 10 months on appeal. My understanding is that he was caught by the mandatory cancellation provisions in the Migration Act but that he had a visa reissued based on the Pearson decision and was released into the community.

The issue is—and I ask you to confirm this, Minister—that, firstly, the mandatory cancellation process under the act actually doesn't wait for appeals. In this case it kicked in straight away and didn't wait for appeals. This person had their sentence reduced to less than 12 months and was released post the Pearson decision. Would a person like that be caught by the provisions in this act? Would the provisions of this act allow for the minister to cancel the visa of a person who was caught by the mandatory cancellation provisions but had their sentence reduced to 10 months on appeal?

This is an observation, not a question: regarding the 10 months, I make the point that Senator Watt is talking about really serious offences, but the people who are caught here are people whom the courts have sentenced to less than 12 months imprisonment.