New Zealand Rapists and Paedophiles Are Escaping Trial in Australia

New Zealand Rapists and Paedophiles Are Escaping Trial in Australia
Former Labour leader (now New Zealand Justice Minister) Andrew Little makes a campaign call during a visit to Rongotai candidate Paul Eagle's phone bank on Sept. 21, 2017, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Henry Jom
7/17/2018
Updated:
7/17/2018

New Zealand citizens accused of rape and child sex offences in Australia are being let off without trials, reported The Australian.

In the past 18 months, five New Zealanders, accused of rape and child sex offences, were sent from New Zealand to Australia to face trial, only to be refused entry at the border or sent back overseas, Daily Mail reported.

The problem is due to Australia’s extradition system, reported The Australian.

‘The consequence of that is the victims of crime in Australia committed by New Zealand citizens are not seeing justice done,’ New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little told AAP.

In one case, according to Daily Mail, an extradited person appeared in an Australian court only to be released back to New Zealand without any consequences.

Justice was not served in such cases, Little said.

The reason could be due a confusion between state and federal police, where state police requested extraditions and federal authorities were cancelling them, Little told Daily Mail.

‘The way some immigration powers, particularly those allowing the deportation of people on character grounds ... is getting confused with extradition obligations,” he said.

“There have just been too many cases of recent occurrences and I think it is important for us to get some very clear guidance on how things are going to be handled,” he said.

Comments from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs have been requested, according to NewsCorp.

Watch Next:

Australia’s China Experts Discuss Chinese Communist Party Infiltration in Australia

“The conflicts between two different values systems, and the conflicts between the two political systems are issues that cannot be ignored.”
Henry Jom is an Australian-based reporter who focuses on Australian and health-related news. He has a bachelor's in health science, specialising in rehabilitation, and is currently completing a postgraduate degree in law. Henry can be contacted at [email protected]
twitter
Related Topics