NAMQ & Anor v MIMIA

[2005] HCATrans 249

[2005] HCATrans 249

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry
  Sydney  No S527 of 2004

B e t w e e n -

NAMQ

First Applicant

NAMR

Second Applicant

and

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Respondent

Application for special leave to appeal

Publication of reasons and pronouncement of orders

GLEESON CJ
GUMMOW J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON WEDNESDAY, 27 APRIL 2005, AT 9.20 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

GLEESON CJ:   The applicants are husband and wife and are citizens of the Peoples Republic of China.  They claim to be entitled to refugee status by reason of the applicant wife’s active involvement in the Falun Gong movement.  The applicant husband relied on the claims of his wife.

The Refugee Review Tribunal affirmed the decision of a delegate of the Minister to refuse to grant the applicants protection visas.  The Tribunal found not to be credible the claims by the applicant wife that she had been active in the Falun Gong movement either in China or since her arrival in Australia in March 1997.  Her applications for a “long-stay temporary business visa” had been refused in July 2001.

Pursuant to section 39B of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) the applicants sought review of the Tribunal’s decision by the Federal Magistrates Court. That court dismissed the review application because no jurisdictional error in the decision of the Tribunal had been shown. An appeal to the Federal Court (Hill J) was dismissed.

We have considered the applicants’ written submissions and the decisions of the Tribunal and the courts below and we are of the view that there are insufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave.  Accordingly special leave to appeal is refused.

Pursuant to rule 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing this application for special leave.

AT 9.21 AM THE MATTER WAS CONCLUDED