Gisborne father fights extradition to Australia to answer decade-old assault charge

The man, aged in his early 30s, is fighting against being extradited to Australia over an alleged assault in 2014. Photo / 123rf

A man is fighting being extradited to Australia where authorities want him to face trial for a violent assault he allegedly committed nearly a decade ago.

The man, who has name suppression, has centred his argument largely around his young son, claiming it would be unjust and oppressive to be forced to leave his whānau in New Zealand.

The decision to extradite the man, aged in his early 30s, was initially made by District Court Judge Warren Cathcart in April, who ruled the arguments made in favour of the man not being surrendered to Australia did not meet the high threshold required.

The man appealed that decision before Justice Rebecca Ellis in the Wellington High Court today.

His alleged offending relates to an incident in Perth, Western Australia, in November 2014, where he is accused of causing grievous bodily harm to a person.

At his appeal, Lawyer Michael Lynch, on behalf of the man, argued the impacts of extradition would be significant, especially for his young whānau.

Lynch said the delay in Australian authorities bringing the charge against his client was significant and unexplained, which has impacted his personal circumstances.

The man had started his whānau without the knowledge he may be forced to leave and face criminal charges in a country where he has no support, Lynch said.

Potential separation from his whānau, partner and young son was a key issue raised by Lynch at the appeal.

He said if his client was to be extradited there was a possibility it would impact the child forever.

“It’s that bond, that separation and that time that will never be able to be regained for that young child,” Lynch said. “That is going to impact that child growing up.”

Other grounds for the appeal included the impact on the man’s employment and ability to provide for his whānau and the effect uprooting him from his community would have.

Lynch said his client had left Australia because he was struggling with mental health, but since returning to Tairāwhiti, Gisborne, he had found stability.

In Judge Cathcart’s decision, he accepted there was a significant delay in the Australian authorities attempting to bring the charges against the man.

He also took into consideration his child, community connections and employment, however, the high threshold to stop extradition on grounds of oppression was not met.

Crown prosecutor Cameron Stuart, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, argued for the decision of Judge Cathcart to be upheld.

Stuart said the arguments that were put forward by Lynch against the order were largely “natural consequences” of extradition.

“I acknowledge how confronting it is to separate a father from his young child but that can’t logically meet the threshold of oppression,” Stuart said.

There would be many cases where extradition would have an impact on children, Stuart argued.

Issues surrounding Tikanga and whether there would be access to equivalent services like cultural reports in Australia were also mentioned at the hearing.

Justice Ellis reserved her decision.

Hazel Osborne is an Open Justice reporter for NZME and is based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. She joined the Open Justice team at the beginning of 2022, previously working in Whakatāne as a court and crime reporter in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.