A lawyer and university lecturer named Mat Henderson is leading efforts to return an Australian man to his home country after he was deported to the United Kingdom following a cannabis conviction under strict visa legislation.
Henderson, principal lawyer at Reparation Legal, said that Bob (a pseudonym) was sent back to the UK in 2015 at the age of 50, having originally arrived in Western Australia with his family in 1970 as a 'ten pound pom'.
A clerical error had left him classified as a permanent resident rather than a citizen, even though he had migrated at the same time as his siblings and parents, all of whom hold Australian citizenship.
That administrative oversight proved consequential when a conviction for cannabis possession and supply led to his removal from Australia under section 501 of the Migration Act.
Henderson writes in his blog: "In 2015 Bob was deported back to the UK after living in Australia for 45 years. He has a distant uncle and aunt he has never met in his country of birth. That's his sole connection to Blighty.
"Bob was one of the first people deported under draconian laws cooked up by [Peter] Dutton in 2014, the dreaded section 501 regime… it's like we inadvertently sent a convict back to Blighty. A 1788-2014 switcheroo."
According to Henderson, Bob has not faced any arrest or charges since being relocated to the UK, though he has encountered ongoing difficulties finding stable employment and housing.
His family remains in Australia — including two grandchildren — and contact has been reduced to Zoom calls. He also still owes the Australian government A$6k for the costs associated with his deportation.
Henderson is now appealing to the new Labor government, calling on Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil to exercise her ministerial discretion to issue a visa and allow Bob to return.
He writes: "While technically not a current prisoner of cannabis prohibition, he is an exile from the homeland that shaped him.
"[The Australian community]… would not expect someone like Bob, in 2023, to fail any sort of character test formulated by Peter Dutton in 2013. Especially when it comes to the supply of illicit cannabis… for personal/medicinal use.
"With jurisdictions around the world already exploring expungement options for those with prior cannabis possession convictions, you'd imagine that when Australia finally catches up, Bob will automatically no longer meet the criteria for someone with a 'substantial criminal record' in accordance with section 501 of the act.
"There is sufficient water under the bridge for the current minister to exercise her discretion and view that record as no longer being the spectre that it once was.
"Bob's past offending clearly does not warrant transportation for the term of his natural life.
"Let's stop deporting people who arrived here as kids and lived here for 45 years before becoming victim to a draconian drug war vanity project."
To read more about Bob's story, visit mathenderson.com.
