Out with the trash
Deportation threat for DV offenders
HOME Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is unlikely to have much sympathy for the Kiwi accused of knocking out a woman in the Surfers Paradise party precinct.
Mr Dutton has been on the warpath against non-citizens resident in Australia who commit crimes.
Police issued a domestic violence application against the 27-year-old Kiwi in the early hours of Sunday morning, alleging he threw a woman to the ground where she struck her head on the roadway.
Police allege the woman, 25, was “further assaulted while on the ground” before members of the public intervened during the incident at the party strip corner of Cavill and Orchid avenues.
Shocking photos supplied to the Bulletin showed the man sitting in the gutter with his head in his hands while police and a passer-by attended to the woman, who was left lying in the road.
The woman was taken to hospital in an ambulance but later refused to lay a complaint or co-operate with police. Hours later the accused updated his social media status to say the pair were in a “relationship”.
Asked about the incident, a spokesman for Mr Dutton said: “The Minister has cancelled a record number of visas for non-citizens who have committed crimes, including for serious assaults.
“People who commit these crimes should be put on notice that their visa could be cancelled.”
His comments come after leading criminal lawyer Bill Potts said the man should be nervous in light of Mr Dutton having gone on the offensive about such behaviour.
Surfers Paradise Licensed Venues Association president Tim Martin called for tougher sentencing for party precinct thuggery and said he planned to write on behalf of members to State Government to lobby for change.
A spokesman for Justice Minister Yvette D’Ath said the latest case of party precinct violence appeared to relate to a domestic violence offence.
“(It’s) proceeding through the Southport Domestic Viol- ence Court, which was introduced and expanded by the Palaszczuk Government.
“The Palaszczuk Government has introduced a suite of laws making domestic violence an aggravating factor for sentencing, that is, if the allegation is proven to be true, it would attract a more severe sentence.
“On the broader issue of sentencing, our judges are empowered to deliver justice based on the individual circumstances of each case, and I am confident they weigh up all the facts and evidence before them, not all of which is reported,” the spokeswoman said.