Kiwi father fights bid to extradite him

When a young New Zealander returned home from Australia in 2015, he apparently had no idea police there considered him a suspect in a violent crime.

Nine years later, the man is described as a valued whā nau member, the breadwinner for his partner and their baby, a worker in stable employment. He has no criminal record.

But, now his life might be upended by an extradition bid by Australian authorities.

If it is granted, he would be forced to return to Western Australia and — with no guarantee he would get bail — possibly be kept in custody for as long as it takes to resolve his case, which could be months, if not years.

The extradition request from the Commonwealth of Australia is progressing through the New Zealand court system.

The man’s name has been suppressed. He lives in a small community in the North Island and, for most of the past 10 years, he has been oblivious to the fact Australian police have been looking for him.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in Western Australia in June 2015, but the extradition request was not received in New Zealand until 2022.

His troubles date back to November 2014 when he was in his 20s.

Court documents say he was considered a suspect for a “violent incident” in a carpark in Perth, which led to an accusation of assault causing grievous bodily harm.

He left Perth to come home in February 2015. A warrant for his arrest was issued in June that year.

New Zealand authorities received an extradition request in February 2022 and an arrest warrant was issued here in September 2022, when the man’s current partner was pregnant with their child.

District Court Judge Warren Cathcart agreed to the extradition request in April 2023.

This decision was overturned on appeal to the High Court, where Justice Rebecca Ellis ruled in June last year that it would be “oppressive” to send the man back to Australia.

“[The man] has, in my view, very plainly ‘grown up’ . . . since his departure from Perth,” she said.

“His growth during that period . . . would be materially disrupted, if not destroyed, by extradition.”

Australian authorities have successfully applied for leave to appeal her decision to the Court of Appeal. No date has been set for the hearing.