A New Zealand-born woman dubbed a "human crimewave" says she will appeal a decision to deport her from Australia to this country.
Patricia Carol Toia, 29, a New Zealand citizen with a criminal record dating back to 1993, has been in Australia for 28 years.
A recent ruling
cleared the way for her deportation to New Zealand.
Toia has been imprisoned more than 30 times for offences including robbery, assaults, drug trafficking and driving while disqualified.
She has been disqualified from driving in Australia till 2053 - when she will be 75.
Toia told the Sunday Star-Times she would appeal the decision in the federal courts.
Australian immigration has been trying to wash its hands of her since a tribunal ruled she had failed a character test to stay in Australia in 2004.
She was only allowed to stay because she qualified for a visa for people who had become part of the Australian community.
She told the newspaper she feared she would become destitute if deported, as she had no contact with her relatives here, and did not even know their surnames or where they lived.
"I've got a sister somewhere, but I don't know where," she said. "I've only met my grandparents once, when I was six years old. I haven't even got a friend over there to call and ask for a place to stay for the night."
The New Zealand government has opposed her repatriation.
At the time of the initial decision, then Foreign Minister Phil Goff said Australia was shirking its responsibilities. "She talks like an Australian, she thinks like an Australian. She has no knowledge of New Zealand."
- NZPA
