The Minister's decision
28 The Minister commenced his decision by considering whether the applicant passed the character test. The Minister summarised the 1995 offences and convictions before stating:
7. I have considered the representations made by Mr DONNELLY and the documents he has submitted in support of his representations.
8. In the representations that Mr DONNELLY submitted, he alleges impropriety and bias in the conduct of the legal proceedings against him and submits that his conviction should not stand. However I find that he was convicted after due legal process and that his representations do not throw doubt on the accuracy or currency of information contained in the National Police Certificate dated 20 July 2015 or the Sentencing Remarks on 28 April 1995, as I give more weight to these authoritative and judicial sources than to his unsubstantiated claims.
9. Accordingly, I am not satisfied that Mr DONNELLY passes the character test (as defined by section 501), with the result that s 501CA(4)(b)(i) of the Act is not met.
29 The Minister then considered whether there was another reason why the original decision should be revoked. He wrote:
11. … I assessed all of the information set out in the Issues Paper and attachments. In particular, I considered Mr DONNELLY's representations and the documents he has submitted in support of his representations regarding why the original decision should be revoked.
12. In the representations/document submitted by or on his behalf, Mr DONNELLY has articulated reasons why he believes the original decision should be revoked. In summary, Mr DONNELLY has claimed that he was improperly convicted on 28 April 1995 and that his lawyer did not action his request to appeal the outcome of the hearing.
13. Mr DONNELLY has further claimed that he was granted Australian citizenship on 26 July 1994 but that before he could attend a ceremony, he was taken into remand. He stated that due to the stress of incarceration and the extreme hardship he has endured for the past 21 years he forgot about the citizenship grant. In his representations Mr DONNELLY has stated that he has been denied procedural fairness in relation to the circumstances surrounding the revocation of his Australian Citizenship Certificate, and that a consequence of this is the revocation of his permanent resident visa. Mr DONNELLY also indicated that from his recollection in 1997, the department had stated that deportation was not a consideration.
14. Mr DONNELLY expressed his belief that the 'department is making a decision based on that denial of natural justice'. In his correspondence Mr DONNELLY has asked that, given these 'extenuating circumstances', he be allowed 'to sign the affirmation and acquire the legal status of an Australian Citizen'; which would in effect remove any issue of revocation of his visa cancellation.
30 The Minister then considered the best interests of minor children, noting that the applicant had not declared any children. The Minister then considered the strength, nature and duration of the applicant's ties to Australia and the extent of impediments he might face if removed. The Minister noted that the applicant did not provide any information regarding his family or social ties to Australia or advance any reasons as to why he should not be returned to the United Kingdom.
31 Regardless, the Minister noted the applicant's claims as to suffering severe clinical depression and that he is in receipt of a disability pension. The Minister stated that as a citizen of the United Kingdom the applicant would be entitled to access the same services as those available to other citizens of the United Kingdom, including social, medical and welfare services which the Minister considered were adequate to meet his needs. The Minister concluded that the applicant would suffer some emotional and psychological hardship in settling in the United Kingdom but that he would be capable of doing so in time.
32 The Minister then considered the protection of the Australian community. He commenced by stating:
27. In coming to my decision about whether or not there is another reason why the original decision should be revoked I have had regard to the consideration of the protection of the Australian community, noting in particular Mr DONNELLY's statements. I considered the Government's commitment to protecting the Australian community from harm as a result of criminal activity by non-citizens. I also took into consideration that remaining in Australia is a privilege that Australia confers on non-citizens in the expectation they are law abiding.
33 The Minister then considered the applicant's criminal conduct. He noted that violent and sexual offences are generally very serious before setting out the applicant's convictions and the circumstances of those offences.
34 As to the 1995 conviction, the Minister stated:
31. While noting that Mr DONNELLY in effect denies these offences, he has been convicted of them by due legal process and unless and until further due legal process overturns the primary verdict, I consider it would be inappropriate for me to go behind that fact solely on the basis of Mr DONNELLY's currently unsubstantiated claims. Accordingly I find that he committed the above offences in the manner described by the court.
35 The Minister then considered the risk the applicant poses to the Australian community. He noted that the applicant provided no information concerning mitigating factors, and that the applicant's Immigration Report noted that the applicant evinced difficulty taking ownership of his criminal behaviour.
36 As to the applicant's release on parole, the Minister wrote:
39. I note that following Mr DONNELLY's release to parole on 8 December 1997 his parole was cancelled on 16 October 1998 for his failure to co-operate with the Sex Offender Maintenance Program and for failure to advise his change of address. I note also that Mr DONNELLY's Statutory Declaration dated 8 January 2016 has stated that his parole order was revoked in 1997 after he repeated 'the Crown's evidence which I was convicted with to the parole officer', who revoked his parole, stating that he 'was uncooperative'. I find that this statement by Mr DONNELLY is contradicted by the official information as to the reasons for the cancellation of his parole in 1998 and supports the view expressed in the Immigration Report that he has an ongoing limited insight into his actions.
40. I note that Mr DONNELLY has some lengthy periods when he did not re-offend, which may be perceived as mitigating his risk of recidivism. However, I give this less weight than I otherwise would as I note that during the period from 1998 until 2005 and from 2006 until he was located in Queensland he was in breach of the parole conditions placed on him on 8 December 1997.
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43. Remorse may usually be considered an important part of the rehabilitation process. From the sentencing remarks on 28 April 1995 it is evident that His Honour found Mr DONNELLY 'entirely without remorse and ... unrepentant' for his criminal actions. Despite being convicted by a jury, Mr DONNELLY continues to maintain that he was improperly convicted because of personal bias by the judge. I find this position to be indicative that Mr DONNELLY continues to either lack remorse for his offending or to fail to comprehend his wrong-doing. Either way, I am of the view that it raises concerns in regard to his progress to rehabilitation and in relation to his risk of recidivism.
44. Based on all of the information above, I find that there remains some ongoing likelihood that Mr DONNELLY will engage in further serious criminal conduct in the future. While his periods without further offending and his advancing age tend to reduce this likelihood, I cannot rule out further offending entirely and if Mr DONNELLY were to engage in any offences similar to some of his past violent or sexual offences, this could result in significant physical, and/or emotional harm to a member or members of the Australian community. This constitutes a serious risk.
37 Based on this information, the Minister found that there remained some ongoing likelihood that the applicant would engage in serious criminal conduct in the future, and that this constituted a serious risk to the Australian community.
38 In his concluding remarks, the Minister relevantly wrote:
46 I concluded Mr DONNELLY has made representations in accordance with the invitation.
47. I am not satisfied that Mr DONNELLY passes the character test (as defined by section 501).
48. In considering whether, in light of Mr DONNELLY's representations, I was satisfied that there is another reason why the original cancellation decision should be revoked, I have considered the length of time Mr DONNELLY has made a positive contribution to the Australian community.
49. On the other hand, in considering whether I was satisfied that there is another reason why the original decision should be revoked, I gave significant weight to the very serious nature of the crimes committed by Mr DONNELLY, namely sexual penetration without consent - aggravated, sexual penetration without consent, deprivation of liberty and indecent assault, offences which are of a violent and sexual nature. I am also mindful of the principle that persons who commit serious crimes should expect to forfeit the privilege of remaining in Australia.
50. Further, I find that the Australian community could be exposed to great harm should Mr DONNELLY reoffend in a similar fashion. I could not rule out the possibility of further offending by Mr DONNELLY. Given the offences committed by Mr DONNELLY, I am of the view that the Australian community would expect that Mr DONNELLY's visa would remain cancelled and I would not revoke the mandatory cancellation decision.
51. I am cognisant that where great harm could be inflicted on the Australian community even other strong countervailing considerations may be insufficient for me to revoke the decision to cancel the visa, even applying a higher tolerance of criminal conduct by Mr DONNELLY, than I otherwise would, because he has lived in Australia for most of his life.
52. In reaching my decision about whether I am satisfied that there is another reason why the original decision should be revoked, I concluded that Mr DONNELLY represents an unacceptable risk of harm to the Australian community and that the protection of the Australian community outweighed the considerations as described above. These include his lengthy residence and the hardship Mr DONNELLY will endure in the event the original decision is not revoked.
39 The Minister then stated that having given full regard to those matters, he was not satisfied that there was another reason why the original decision to cancel the applicant's visa should be revoked.