Haupt and Minister for Immigration Multicultural and Indigenous a Ffairs

[2003] AATA 161

Administrative

Appeals

Tribunal

 

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2003] AATA 161

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No Q2002/559

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISION		)
Re		HERFRIED HEINZ HAUPT

Applicant

And MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Deputy President Don Muller

Date17 February 2003      

PlaceBrisbane

Decision The Tribunal affirms the decision to refuse Australian citizenship to Herfried Heinz Haupt.

...............SIGNED................................

D.W. MULLER

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

CATCHWORDS

CITIZENSHIP – whether a person of good character – numerous convictions for anti-social, anti-authority behaviour

Citizenship Act 1948 s13(1)(f)

REASONS FOR DECISION

Deputy President Don Muller       

1.This is an application by Herfried Heinz Haupt to review a decision to refuse his application for Australian citizenship.

2.Mr. Haupt’s application for citizenship was refused on the ground that he is not a person of good character within the meaning of those terms in section 13(1)(f) of the Citizenship Act 1948 which provides:

“13(1)  Subject to this section the Minister may in the Minister’s discretion upon application in accordance with the approved form grant a certificate of Australian citizenship to a person who satisfies the Minister that:

(f)  the person is of good character”

3.From the material in the section 37 statement and from the oral evidence of Mr. Haupt the Tribunal finds as follows:

(i)Mr. Haupt was born in Eger, in what was then Czechoslovakia on 4 August 1942.

(ii)Mr. Haupt’s father was Austrian.  Consequently, Mr. Haupt is an Austrian citizen.

(iii)Mr. Haupt arrived in Australia on or about 5 February 1970.  He was granted Permanent Residence Status on 8 February 1970.

(iv)Mr. Haupt has lived permanently in Australia since his arrival.  He left Australia on one occasion, for a short time a few years ago, to visit his 80 year old mother in Germany.

(v)Mr. Haupt worked as a boiler-maker, welder, for approximately 20 years from 1970 to  1990.  He worked for various employers and was also self-employed in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

(vi)In or about 1990, Mr. Haupt received an eye injury at work.  He has not worked since.  He has been in receipt of the disability support pension for about 10 years.

(vii)Mr. Haupt has been in a relatively stable relationship for about 16 years, with an Australian born woman.  They regard each other as their spouse.

4.Mr. Haupt has a relatively lengthy criminal history of offences which indicate that he has been contemptuous of the law and authority when it suited him.

(i)He has numerous convictions in relation to Indian Hemp.  They include cultivating, possession, smoking and being in possession of a pipe for the smoking of Indian Hemp.  He has been convicted of cannabis related charges in Magistrates Courts, Courts of Petty Sessions or Local Courts on the following occasions:  16 June 1992, 14 December 1976, 24 February 1981, 26 February 1987, 28 June 1995 and 13 December 1995.

(ii)He has been convicted of offences relating to the driving of a motor vehicle.  They include driving an unregistered motor vehicle and driving without a licence on 29 November 1974;  driving while a cancelled driver and with “plates calculated to deceive” on 5 July 1995.

(iii)On 14 December 1976 he was convicted in the Townsville Magistrates Court of trespassing and fined $200.

(iv)He has been convicted in the Lismore Local Court of various offences relating to offensive behaviour such as offensive language, resisting arrest and failing to quit licensed premises.  Those appearances were on 27 February 1991, 29 January 1993, 27 May 1997 and 10 December 1997.

(v)On 30 January 1998, he was convicted of numerous offences in the Lismore Local Court.  The offences included breach of an apprehended violence order, assault, malicious damage to property, resisting and assaulting an officer in the execution of his duty and contravening an apprehended violence order.

(vi)On 11 August 1998, he was convicted in the Lismore Local Court of numerous charges arising out of a series of altercations he had with a neighbour.  He alleges that his neighbour ran over his dog and that as a result he challenged his neighbour to a fight on a few occasions. He was convicted of stalk intimidate with intent to cause fear of personal injury, assaulting an officer in the execution of his duty and resisting or hindering a police officer in the execution of his duty.  He was originally sentenced to nine months in prison but on appeal this was changed to 200 hours community service.

5.Mr. Haupt has not been in trouble with the law since August 1998.  He claims that he has changed his way of life.  He gave evidence that he no longer smokes cannabis, nor does he drink alcohol.  He has sought professional help for his aggression problems. He now takes medication which he says “allows him to handle things better”.

6.The Tribunal is satisfied that Mr. Haupt’s attitude towards the law and people in authority from the date of his arrival in Australia to mid 1998 show that he has not been a person of good character during his first 28 years in Australia.

7.The Tribunal takes the view that it is currently too early to determine whether Mr. Haupt has reformed to such an extent that it is possible to decide that he is now a person of good character.  If he carries on with his good behaviour and regard for the law for the next five years or so, there is no reason why he should not make an application for citizenship in 2008.  The Respondent will then be better placed to assess Mr. Haupt’s character.

8.The decision to refuse the application for citizenship is affirmed.

I certify that the 8 preceding paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for the decision herein of Deputy President Don Muller

Signed:         .......................................................................................
           B. Hitchcock, Personal Asst

Date/s of Hearing  12 February 2003
Date of Decision  17 February 2003
Applicant  Mr. Haupt, himself
Solicitor for the Respondent     Blake Dawson Waldron