Govt to keep eye on Oz deportees

Photo / NZH

The Government will today announce a new law to allow it to impose parole-like conditions on the hundreds of offenders being deported back to New Zealand from Australia under Canberra's controversial new policy.

About 1000 New Zealand-born prisoners living in Australia are expected to be deported back to New Zealand after serving sentences of more than a year.

Justice Minister Amy Adams said the legislation will allow authorities to impose conditions on deportees if necessary.

It was likely many of those offenders would have been put on parole if they were in Australia, she said. "But because they're being put on a plane, no parole conditions are being imposed and so they would be coming back here subject to nothing."

She said the deportations would mean extra costs for Corrections and the police.

"The reality is we don't have a choice. These people are arriving and we either turn our backs and let them disappear off into the ether without knowing what risk they pose or where they are, or we try and do our best to manage it."

Ms Adams said public protection and extended supervision orders could be imposed on the most serious offenders under existing law. "But ... it's an incredibly high threshold to meet. The concern is that there are and will be a number of criminals deported ... who are not at that threshold but still pose potential risk to New Zealand."

The extent of monitoring under a new law would depend on the crime committed and length of sentence.

The Government could not impose parole on deportees because the Parole Board had no jurisdiction over Australian prisons.

"We've had to create a framework that replicates it through a different mechanism. It isn't parole but it will be monitoring conditions. There will be standard oversight and reporting type conditions that apply."

The law would allow for stricter limitations on those considered to be higher risk and provide support for reintegration into the community.

Ms Adams said she could not guarantee deportees would not reoffend but did not believe the risk was any higher than for a New Zealand offender.

This year, Australia changed its policy so non-citizens were stripped of their visa if they were sentenced to more than a year in jail.

Canberra has refused to budge on the policy despite appeals by Prime Minister John Key.

Today's step follows an agreement a month ago for Australia to warn New Zealand authorities six months in advance of who would be deported and provide detailed information including their criminal records, case histories, gang associations, finger prints and photographs.

It will be trialled for three months and adjustments made if necessary.