Tomorrow a landmark trial will be held in the High Court of Australia to determine an important threshold question as to whether Aboriginal Australians can be considered an ‘alien’ under the Constitution and, as a result, be deported following a serious criminal conviction.
The special case is being brought on behalf of Aboriginal Australian men, Daniel Love and Brendan Thoms. It will be argued that both men are Australian nationals because they are Aboriginal people who, although born overseas, are not aliens under the Constitution.
Maurice Blackburn Senior Associate Claire Gibbs, who is acting for Mr Love and Mr Thoms, said the case was important in seeking to make clear that it was unacceptable, under the Constitution, for people who were clearly Australians to be subjected to the alien deportation powers.
“In our view it is morally wrong for the Commonwealth to try to remove our clients from Australia, when it is evident that, on any common sense measure, our clients are Australians,” Ms Gibbs said.
“Our case is directed to showing that it is also unlawful."
“Our clients have a clear Aboriginal lineage, they each have an Aboriginal Australian parent, they have children who are Aboriginal Australians and they went to school and worked in Australia."
Source: High-Court-Trial----Constitutional-aliens-power-applies-to-Aboriginal-Australians.pdf