Harris and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Migration)

This decision concerns an application by Mr Harris to set aside the refusal to revoke the mandatory cancellation of his visa. The matter came before Senior Member Egon Fice of the Tribunal. The core of the dispute revolved around whether there was "another reason" why the original decision to cancel Mr Harris's visa should be revoked, as required by section 501CA(4)(b)(ii) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the circumstances of Mr Harris's case warranted the revocation of his visa cancellation, applying the principles and guidance set out in the relevant Ministerial Direction. This involved considering the objectives of the Migration Act, the sovereign right of Australia to determine who may enter or remain in the country, and the community's expectations regarding the conduct of non-citizens. Specifically, the Tribunal had to weigh factors such as the length of Mr Harris's residence in Australia, his contributions to the community, the impact of cancellation on his family, and the nature and duration of his criminal conduct.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Mr Harris's length of residence in Australia and the presence of his father and sister were favourable considerations, these were diminished by the fact that his offending commenced shortly after his arrival and continued unabated for approximately 20 years. The Tribunal found that Mr Harris's criminal conduct, which appeared to be linked to drug addiction, had caused significant harm to the Australian community and that there was no evidence of serious efforts by him to overcome his addiction. The Tribunal noted that while Maori community support facilities existed in New Zealand and could potentially assist Mr Harris, there was no evidence he would avail himself of them or that they would be sufficient to divert him from negative influences. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the protection of the Australian community and the expectations of the Australian community strongly favoured not revoking the visa cancellation.