Re Honourable Gerry Hand, Minister of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs v Hell'S Angels Motorcycle Club Incorporated [1991] FCA 633;

Re Honourable Gerry Hand, Minister of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs v Hell'S Angels Motorcycle Club Incorporated [1991] FCA 633; - FCA 1991 case summary — Zoe

[36]

"I am writing to follow up the telephone conversation with Mr

Phillips and yourself this afternoon regarding administrative

arrangements for the handling of visa applications from members of

the Hells Angels Club.

Consistent with the court orders, arrangements have been put in place

for applications from Hells Angels Club members seeking to visit

Australia to be accepted at our overseas missions, on the

understanding that processing will take place in Canberra.

Parallel to the lodgement of applications, the Hells Angels Club in

Victoria will provide my office details of applications lodged by

members and the post at which those applications have been lodged.

Should it be necessary for the Department to seek further information

from any particular applicant, this will be done direct to the

applicant or from the Hells Angels Club in Melbourne.

As indicated in our discussions, our objective with these

arrangements is to provide the most convenient and expeditious means

for receipt of application, payment of fees, and the preparation of

all relevant information for consideration by the Minister.

We also discussed the situation in relation to New Zealand citizens

intending to visit Australia. As you know, New Zealand citizens are

exempt from our visa requirements but are still subject to scrutiny

at the point of entry to Australia. To avoid the possibility of

inconvenience and embarrassment to any members of the Hells Angels

Club travelling from New Zealand, it is for your consideration to

advise them that in the circumstances, the acquisition of a visa may

be in their best interests. This should not in any way be

interpreted as our insisting that New Zealand citizens should apply

for a visa but rather a means of facilitating their travel to

Australia.

We also discussed the situation pertaining to those members of the

Hells Angels Club who had received visas but where those visas were

subsequently cancelled. I confirm our advice that such persons

should lodge new applications for consideration under the agreed

arrangements."

[54]

"1. Preparation of submissions to the Minister with respect to

consideration of grant or refusal of each of the applications

received to date is underway.

2. Certain matters will be put to applicants in order that they

have an opportunity to address all issues which may arise for the

Minister's consideration and a decision on each of the applications

obviously will have to await the applicant's response to those

matters. Clearly there can be no decision on individual applications

until then.

3. The length of time after the 11 October that it will take

before applications are decided is dependent on the time it takes

individual applicants to respond to the matters that this Department

will be putting to them.

4. The issues raised by the prospective visit are broadly speaking

whether each applicant satisfies the prescribed criteria for the

class of visa sought, which criteria include:

a) whether the applicant is a person likely to become involved

in activities disruptive to, or violence threatening harm to, the

Australian community or a group within the Australian community;

b) whether the applicant satisfies health and character

requirements; and

c) whether the applicant intends to make a genuine visit to

Australia and has adequate funds for his or her support during the

period of the visit.

5. As you will be aware, processing the applications in accordance

with the consent orders necessarily takes time. Your client has

indicated that the World Run is to occur in late October or early

November this year, and for the applications to be finalised in

sufficient time they should be lodged by 11 October 1991. Where an

application is notified to the Department in accordance with the

consent orders after this date it may not be possible to complete the

required processes before the dates on which the applicant wishes to

travel to Australia. It is in order to avoid possible inconvenience

to applicants' travel arrangements that we are asking your client to

finalize notification of applications and to urge intending visitors

to the 'World Run' to lodge their applications by 11 October.

6. The 'benefit' that you refer to, is that a decision would be

made on each application by the Minister personally and with the

fullest regard to the requirements of procedural fairness.

7. I see no inconsistency between my letter of 4 October and Mr

Muir's of 29 August. Applications will be processed in the most

expeditious way having regard to the considerations of the prescribed

criteria that must be satisfied prior to the grant of a visa. In

particular, the issues referred to in my answers to Question 4, must

be canvassed to enable the finalization of each application notified

in accordance with the consent orders."

[147]

74. That is not, however, the end of the matter because it does not exclude the relevance of the material to the public interest criterion of good character. The question for the Court is not what conclusion it might reach if it had to decide the question of good character; but whether irrelevant material is to be placed before the appellant. In relation to good character the issue is very much broader than it is in relation to criterion (c). The affiliations of a person may be relevant to the question of good character as one of many matters that could be considered. The weight to be given to membership of an organisation may vary enormously and opinions may legitimately differ on such questions. They are not questions for this Court. It is commonly said, sometimes unfairly, that a person may be known by the company he keeps. If it is well known that a particular organisation has undesirable members or attributes, then an affiliation with that organisation may - by no means must - bear upon that person's character. It might be thought that something of the same problem arises with relevance as to character as arises with relevance as to criterion (c) because the information about Hell's Angels to be placed before the appellant is limited. But in relation to character this consideration goes to weight, not to relevance. It is a circumstance to be taken into account along with others, including, to the extent that the appellant considers appropriate, any response by an applicant to the Joseph letter, in determining whether he is satisfied that an applicant is of good character. Moreover, it is for an applicant to satisfy the requirement of good character. A more difficult task faces those who assert irrelevance in such circumstances than where the attack is on the relevance of material to a decision that involves a positive satisfaction on the part of the decision-maker about a likelihood. In these circumstances, it cannot be concluded that the information in the Joseph letter is irrelevant to one of the issues the appellant may need to consider in relation to the visa applications.

At a glance

Court

Decision date

Before

Source

Judgment (184 paragraphs)

Re Honourable Gerry Hand, Minister of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs v Hell'S Angels Motorcycle Club Incorporated [1991] FCA 633; (1991) 25 ALD 667 (Extracts) (16 December 1991)

Parties

Legislation Cited (2)

Cases Cited (5)