SZKTR v Minister for Immigration

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SZKTR v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR [2007] FMCA 1447

MIGRATION – Review of Refugee Review Tribunal decision – refusal of a protection visa – applicant claiming persecution in China as a Falun Gong practitioner – Tribunal initially failing to personally give a copy of its decision to the applicant – copy sent by post apparently not received – no jurisdictional error found – application dismissed.

Migration Act 1958, ss.424A, 430, 430B, 441A, 477

SZFLM v Minister for Immigration [2007] FCA 863

Applicant: SZKTR

First Respondent: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP

Second Respondent: REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

File Number: SYG1851 of 2007

Judgment of: Driver FM

Hearing date: 21 August 2007

Delivered at: Sydney

Delivered on: 21 August 2007

REPRESENTATION

The Applicant appeared in person

Solicitors for the Respondents: Ms G Broderick
Clayton Utz

ORDERS

1. The application is dismissed.

2. The applicant is to pay the first respondent’s costs and disbursements of and incidental to the application, fixed in the sum of $3,800.

FEDERAL MAGISTRATES
COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT
SYDNEY

SYG1851 of 2007

SZKTR

Applicant

And

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP

First Respondent

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

(revised from transcript)

1. This is an application to review a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (“the Tribunal”).  The decision was signed on 1 May 2007 and was handed down on 22 May 2007.  The Tribunal affirmed a decision of a delegate of the Minister not to grant the applicant a protection visa.  Background facts relating to the applicant's protection visa claims and the Tribunal decision on them are set out in written submissions filed on behalf of the Minister on 14 August 2007.  I adopt as background for the purposes of this judgment paras.2 through to 8 of those submissions:

   The applicant is a citizen of the Peoples' Republic of China ("China") who arrived in Australia on 7 November 2006.  On 8 December 2006 the applicant applied for a protection visa. That application was refused by a delegate of the Minister on 30 January 2007.

   On 2 March 2007, the applicant applied to the Tribunal for a review of the delegate's decision. On 13 March 2007, the Tribunal wrote to the applicant pursuant to s.424A of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("the Migration Act"). On 5 April 2007, the Tribunal received a response to the s.424A letter.

   On 24 April 2007, the applicant appeared before the Tribunal and gave oral evidence.

   At the Tribunal hearing the applicant:

   (a)     produced his passport;

   (b)explained his claims that he was persecuted in China for his practice of    Falun Gong.

Tribunal’s reasons

The Tribunal did not accept that the applicant was a Falun Gong practitioner in China or that he practices in Australia for the following reasons:

(a)when asked specific questions, the applicant told the Tribunal he could not answer them and said he was only interested in practising Falun Gong, not its theory or philosophy;

(b)the applicant's oral evidence was inconsistent and displayed a complete lack…