Immigration Minister Peter Dutton concedes legal error in deporting Shane Martin
The father of AFL and Richmond superstar Dustin Martin could be one step closer to returning to Australia after Immigration Minister Peter Dutton conceded a legal error was made in the decision to deport him.
The case of Shane Martin, who was deported to New Zealand last year because of his links to the Rebels motorcycle club, was mentioned in the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday.
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Justice John Griffiths was told Mr Dutton had agreed the decision should be quashed.
"You are not going to do much better than that," he quipped to Mr Martin's barrister James Forsaith when he stood up to make a submission.
But there is still the issue of Mr Martin's visa.
Fairfax Media understands Tuesday's court decision does not necessarily mean Mr Martin will be reinstated with a visa to return to Australia – an outcome government lawyers would fiercely oppose.
The judge adjourned the case to December 19 to determine whether Mr Martin will get his visa back.
Mr Martin spoke to 3AW on Tuesday, saying he was not yet celebrating because he was still unsure whether he would be allowed back into Australia – and he did not know why the government had dropped his case.
"I'm just confused at the moment, to be honest," he said.
"[My lawyers are] still just in
negotiations at the moment, so I'll probably know a bit more later on
this afternoon, or tonight.
"But yeah, it's a positive, that's the main thing. But I'm not on the plane yet, so I feel a bit torn.
He was keen to come back to Australia to be with his family and said it was his intention to live here if he was allowed.
"I don't want to say I'm back when I'm not ... I don't understand why I can't just go now, but the legal side of it, you know, we've got to go through that, make sure it's right before I get there.
"I don't care about anything else but just being there for my kids and to get home. I don't care or understand all the other side of it, don't care about it. I just want to get home.
"I'm lost for words at the moment ... I want to believe it, but until I'm on that plane and sitting in Australia, I'll be partying then."
The deportation of Mr Martin, who had lived in Australia since he was 20, meant he missed his son's AFL grand final win this year when the Tigers claimed their first flag since 1980.
But he said he was beyond anger at his situation.
"How do you get angry at something that you've got no control over?"
He said he had spoken to Dustin but reiterated that there were no celebrations yet. He said he was "up in the air" about the next steps in the process.
In September, Mr Dutton pushed through a change to the law to protect secrecy around deportation decisions when the decision was based on classified information.
The change, necessitated by a successful High Court case, was designed to protect decisions already taken by Mr Dutton, such as the deportation of Mr Martin.
In October, Mr Dutton said he based the decision to deport Mr Martin on information that is not publicly available.
"I have information that is provided by the intelligence agencies and by law I am prohibited from giving you the detail," the minister said.
"I've made a decision which I am not going to change. I made a decision based on all the facts and I believe it is the right decision."
Dustin Martin's manager, Ralph Carr, declined to comment when contacted by The Age on Tuesday.
In an interview with The Footy Show in August, Dustin said his father was his biggest supporter and that leaving him in New Zealand after visiting him there was one of the hardest moments of his life.
"It's been incredibly hard the last 12 to 18 months not having him here," Dustin said. "He'd love to be here and hopefully he is back here soon.
"It's been a pretty emotional week ... seeing him [in New Zealand] he was pretty broken."
In that same interview, a visibly emotional Shane Martin,who left Australia voluntarily in March 2016 after Mr Dutton revoked his residency status, spoke of his pride in his son and his fight to be allowed to return to Australia.
"Love you son and I'm very proud," Mr Martin said from his home in New Zealand.
AAP, Michael Koziol