A Rebels bikie and an ice-addled wife basher are among the 1,300 Kiwis who have been deported back to New Zealand during the past three years.
Ko Haapu and Shaun Wynyard have spoken out about being sent packing by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, sparking diplomatic tensions with Australia’s near neighbour.
Haapu, a former New Zealand solider who served in Afghanistan and fought against the Taliban, later moved to Perth and joined the Rebels outlaw bikie gang.
A Rebels bikie and an ice-addled wife basher are among the 1,300 Kiwis who have been deported back to New Zealand during the past three years
Ko Haapu (pictured left with Peter FitzSimons), is a former New Zealand solider who served in Afghanistan. He was deported from Australia for being involved in Perth with the Rebels
His association with the criminal group saw him kicked out of Australia under Section 116 of the Migration Act, where the minister can have someone deported if they were considered a risk to the ‘health, safety and good order of the Australian community’.
Despite that, the man who was engaged to an Australian woman, making him a stepfather, had no regrets about joining the Rebels for their ‘camaraderie’.
‘I felt personally that I was on my own and they welcomed me with open arms as a family,’ he told the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent program.
The former soldier also explained to celebrity guest reporter Peter FitzSimons what his neck tattoo initials, ‘FTP’, stood for.
‘F*** the police,’ he said.
The former soldier also explained to celebrity guest reporter Peter FitzSimons that his neck tattoo initials, ‘FTP’, stood for ‘f*** the police’
‘It was a statement put on my neck so I could see it every day.
‘I don’t like them in uniform and they didn’t like me in uniform.’
Shaun Wynyard, who was jailed for bashing his Australian wife under the influence of the drug ice, was deported back to Auckland at age 44, after living in Australia for 20 years.
His spouse was assaulted so badly she ended up in hospital.
He was given a 12-month sentence, which meant he was automatically deported under section 501 of the Migration Act.
As he landed back in New Zealand, he told the ABC he was nervous.
‘I’m a little bit scared about starting a new life here after 20 years,’ he said.
New Zealand’s Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said Australia’s behaviour was morally wrong and would not be copied in retaliation
New Zealand’s Labour Justice Minister Andrew Little described the deportations as a betrayal to a ‘best friend’ and a ‘breach of human rights’
Since Australia toughened the Migration Act in 2015, 1,300 Kiwis have been deported.
New Zealand, by comparison, has expelled just nine Australians, with this issue sparking diplomatic tensions across the Tasman Sea.
New Zealand’s Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said Australia’s behaviour was morally wrong and would not be copied in retaliation.
‘In a legal sense, it is unacceptable behaviour,’ he told the ABC.
New Zealand’s Labour Justice Minister Andrew Little described the deportations as a betrayal.
‘This doesn’t look like our best friend, our nearest neighbour,’ he said.
‘People who identify as Australian residents, because that’s where they’ve done their living, and saying, “They’re your problem now”, I think it is a breach of human rights.’