Career criminal to finally be deported back to New Zealand

A career criminal who plied two girls with alcohol until they let him take photos of them naked will be deported back to New Zealand.

Patrick van Lith was supposed to be shipped home in 1984 but immigration lost track of him for 30 years, despite him committing a string of crimes in Australia.

The 59-year-old’s life of crime began aged 17 when he stole a car and committed three burglaries in quick succession.

This was followed by four armed robberies, for which he was sent to jail, along with possession of a shotgun, assault and drug possession.

Patrick van Lith, 59, will finally be deported back to New Zealand from Australia 33 years after he was originally to be shipped home

Van Lith moved to Australia in 1983 aged 24 to ‘make a fresh start’ but the same year was convicted of theft which prompted the original deportation order.

He later used a weapon to thwart a police investigation, inflicted bodily harm, and drove an unlicenced car while drunk over the next 13 years.

In 2005 he was charged with two counts of indecent treatment of a child, for which he was sent to jail after a trial in 2008.

The predator plied two girls aged 13 and 14 with alcohol and convinced them to take off their clothes so he could take ‘lewd and inappropriate’ photos of them.

After his release he in 2011 didn’t comply with his reporting requirements, using the excuse that he got drunk and forgot about it.

Van Lith finally popped back on the radar in 2014 when he returned from a trip to NZ and admitted to having a criminal conviction on his immigration form.

His crimes during that time included bodily harm, robbery, drugs, burglary, and giving two girls aged 13 and 14 alcohol until they let him take photos of them naked

His crimes during that time included bodily harm, robbery, drugs, burglary, and giving two girls aged 13 and 14 alcohol until they let him take photos of them naked

He managed to get a 30-day border visa and in March this year applied for a bridging visa which Immigration Minister Peter Dutton denied.

Van Lith appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), which agreed with the minister on the grounds that he didn’t pass the good character test.

AAT senior member Theodore Tavoularis said his crimes escalated in type and severity and included at least five involving physical harm.

‘There is a clear consistency in the offending, both in terms of type, severity and his refusal to submit to lawful authority,’ he said. 

‘This theme of non-acceptance of lawful authority and scant respect for the personal and property rights of others remained a constant theme throughout his pattern of offending.’

Mr Tavoularis said his ‘disturbing’ assault on a man he thought was making advances on his then-girlfriend was ‘both menacing and brutal’.

‘The applicant sought to unilaterally impose his idea of discipline and dispute resolution to resolve an issue in his life,’ he said.

He appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which agreed with the minister's decision to deport him on the grounds that he didn't pass the good character test

He appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which agreed with the minister’s decision to deport him on the grounds that he didn’t pass the good character test

He said van Lith had a substance abuse problem that led to him ‘feeling that he could automatically get his own way or otherwise not allowing anything else to get in the way of what he wants to achieve’.

The father-of-two argued he was reformed and had a lung condition that left him reliant on a tight circle of friends and there was nothing for him in New Zealand.

He further argued he had four grandchildren and had a difficult childhood where he lost his mother aged 12 and was sexually abused, but did not provide evidence. 

But Mr Tavoularis said if he was allowed to stay in Australia, the public would be at risk of financial loss, serious physical or psychological injuries, or death.

‘I do not accept his evidence that he is now a reformed drinker and is no longer interested in illegal substances,’ he said, citing lack of medical evidence.

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