Dustin Martin’s biker uncle is fighting his detention and deportation from Australia because he is Aboriginal.
Dean Martin, uncle of the Richmond Tigers star and former national chairman of the Rebels motorcycle gang, has lodged a court challenge to avoid deportation to New Zealand.
On 18 July, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil personally cancelled 56-year-old Martin’s visa on character grounds, and he was detained at Melbourne’s Immigration Detention Centre on 22 July.
The Herald of the Sun reported that Martin has filed a habeas corpus petition demanding that his case be heard by the Supreme Court.
This is an attempt to determine whether the Australian government has acted legally or even has the power to deport him.
A week after his arrest, an urgent administrative hearing was held on Tuesday.
Martin was not present at the hearing, where his lawyer Matthew Albert said a 2020 High Court ruling meant “an Aboriginal person is not a foreigner and cannot be detained under the Immigration Act.”
Mr Albert told the court: “The question is, is Mr Martin a constitutional alien or not?”
Former national chairman of the Rebels motorcycle gang Dean Martin (pictured) has lodged a court challenge to avoid deportation to New Zealand.
Martin is the uncle of Richmond Tigers superstar Dustin Martin (pictured)
He said it was up to the Commonwealth to prove his client was not Aboriginal.
Court documents revealed that Martin claims that as a recognised member of the Manegin Aboriginal community in Tasmania, he is “not within the scope” of Parliament’s powers to deport him.
Martin says he informed the Department of Home Affairs in October 2021 that he was an Aboriginal Australian.
He also claims to have provided evidence including an affidavit made by a Manegin elder, a copy of a resolution made by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation declaring him a member, and genealogical records.
Mr Albert said his client was being deprived of his liberty and the matter needed to be resolved quickly.
He said this urgency was the reason the request was filed in the Supreme Court and not in Federal Court, where immigration matters are typically heard.
“This court is as well placed as any other to address the constitutional debate,” Albert said.
‘The proceedings in the Federal Court at the moment are very, very slow.’
“This court is much faster in processing these requests.”
Richard Knowles KC, for the Commonwealth, disputed this and said the case should be transferred to the Federal Court.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday to determine whether the case will be heard before the Supreme Court or transferred.
Mr Knowles said his client had already lodged an application to revoke the visa cancellation.
Mr Knowles added that if the application is successful “his visa will come back to life” and the case will be closed.
“If the decision is unfavourable, you will have the opportunity to seek judicial review, but only in the Federal Court or the High Court,” he said.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured), who briefly dated Martin (pictured) in 2021, said the government made a mistake in his pending deportation.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, who briefly dated Martin in 2021, said the government made a mistake with his pending deportation.
“Mr Martin has evidence, support and recognition that he is Aboriginal from the elders and community of Lutruwita, Tasmania,” he said.
‘We have already seen the High Court’s ruling in 2020 that the Commonwealth lacks the constitutional power to deport First Peoples under the Migration Act.
Senator Thorpe said First Nations people could not be classified as “aliens” and deported because that was incompatible with their connection to country “recognized by customary law.”
‘My question is, why does the government now think it can go against the law and deport First Nations?’
An immigration lawyer told the Herald Sun that if Martin can prove his Aboriginal heritage, he believes he will be allowed to stay in Australia.
He added that there was case law showing that he could not be deported to New Zealand.