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National

Deported teen case should be sent to the UN - Human Rights Commissioner

With more questions than answers, could this case set a precedent for another child to be booted out of Australia? Human Rights Commissioner Meng Foon is committed to getting this teenage deportation case sorted out.

"Kaua e korero ki te pirimia o Ahitereiria anake, me tono tatou ki te United Nations i te tuatahi. Na te mea koretake tera akiakitia o matou ki te Pirimia o Ahitereiria"

Don’t just speak to the Australian Prime Minister, take it up with the Human Rights Commission. It's useless trying to take it up with the Australian Prime Minister.

Foon is angered over the process that saw a 15-year-old Kiwi youth kicked out of Australia. He says, given the Maori prison population in Australia, New Zealand must be cautious.

“Te mahi kaikiri o te kāwanatanga o Ahitereiria ki ngā iwi taketake mai i te timatanga mai o to rātou uhia nei i Ahitereiria. Tae noa ki inaianei mātou ngā taketake Māori e haere ki reira”

“The Australian government and the racism it inflicted on its indigenous people from the start. Even now with more Māori heading there.”

Aussie counterparts asked

Children's Commissioner Andrew Beacroft believes this young person hasn't been to New Zealand. He’s taken matters into his own hands, and sought some detail from his Australian counterparts.

“There is a federal Children's Commissioner and every state has a children's commissioner and I've written to them all. And I've said, can you please explain and can you find out from your end and are you willing to speak out publically? Because on any analysis, this doesn't seem to be the way that a kind, developed and thoughtful western world country would behave.”

Foon raises concerns about government delays in remedying immigration issues. He says he is keen to get stuck into the case

“Me kokiritia me akiakitia te kaupapa ki te komihana whakatika tāngata o Ahitereiria.”

“I'll start those conversations with the Human Rights Commission in Australia”

“With many questions remaining unanswered, the question remains whether there is potential for something like this to happen again,” he says.