- Dustin Martin’s biker uncle won’t be deported from Australia
- He was on the list to be deported to New Zealand.
- But he has proven that he is Aboriginal and therefore cannot be deported.
Dustin Martin’s biker uncle no longer faces deportation after providing a crucial piece of evidence about his heritage.
According to the Herald Sun, Dean William Martin, 56, the brother of AFL champion Dusty’s father Shane, walked free from Melbourne’s Immigration Detention Centre last week after facing deportation to New Zealand.
Mr Martin was preparing to fight the Albanian government against his deportation during a two-day hearing at the Supreme Court this week.
However, the hearing was reportedly cancelled after the defendant provided further evidence to the court last week proving his Aboriginal ancestry.
As a result, the government has no choice but to reverse its decision to deport him on character grounds, because non-citizen Aboriginal Australians cannot be deported as foreigners under the Constitution.
“Last week, the government received information that those thresholds had been met in this case and that Mr Martin was to be released,” a Home Office spokesman said.
‘We have handled this in the same way the previous administration handled detainees who met the same threshold.
Minister Tony Burke decided on 18 July to cancel Mr Martin’s special category visa, which allows New Zealand citizens to visit, stay, work and study in Australia.
Dustin Martin’s biker uncle Dean Martin won’t be deported from Australia
Martin, who previously dated Lidia Thorpe, has proven he is Aboriginal in court.
Mr Martin, who was previously national chairman of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, was notified of the decision and arrested four days later.
Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe, who previously dated Martin, called the decision a “mistake”.
“How is it possible that an Aboriginal man can be deported from his own country?” he asked.
Court documents show Mr Martin is a recognised member of the Manegin Aboriginal community in Tasmania.
He has since been granted a special purpose visa and is able to remain in Australia.
In 2018, Dustin’s father Shane was deported to New Zealand but had considered filing a High Court claim based on his Aboriginal background.
He died in Auckland three years later.