Activist to be deported

herald sun ^ | 12sep05 | Holly Ife and Nick Butterly

[mdittmar]

AN American deemed a national security threat may be deported today.Peace and anti-globalisation activist Scott Parkin was arrested by Australian Federal Police in Melbourne on Saturday.

Mr Parkin's visa had been cancelled by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

The Texan teacher had been in Australia since June on a six-month visitor's visa as a tourist.

Mr Parkin had been the subject of an Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation assessment.

A lawyer was being organised for an appeal.

An Immigration Department spokesman yesterday said: "Generally speaking, people in Australia on visas, temporary or permanent, must meet character requirements of the Migration Act."

He said a visa could be revoked if requirements were not met and the person would therefore have no lawful right to be in Australia and would be deported as soon as possible.

Greenpeace spokesman Dan Cass said Mr Parkin has been arrested at protests in the US but this had not prevented his being granted an Australian visitor's visa.

Mr Cass said he feared the problem was that as a peace activist, Mr Parkin had made an enemy of the US Bush Government.

Protesters yesterday gathered outside the Melbourne Custody Centre, many wearing masking tape across their lips.

Supporters of Mr Parkin said he was nothing more than a hippie visiting Australia to give workshops on peace and so-called "non-violent direct action".

Mr Cass said Mr Parkin had performed street theatre while protesting with the 30A Network outside the international Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney last month.

Community Legal Centre lawyer Marika Dias said Mr Parkin was upset at being described as a security threat.

Ms Dias said the Government had not given a specific reason for the visa cancellation.

She said Mr Parkin was asked to attend an interview with ASIO on September 7, but declined and learned his visa had been cancelled days later.

Ms Dias said while she believed Mr Parkin had a strong case, he would probably not appeal against the decision.

"The difficulty . . . is it means he must remain in detention at his own expense until that review can be conducted," she said.

Mr Parkin is a member of "anti-empire" group, the Houston Global Awareness Collective.

He is outspoken about the Iraq war, in particular the involvement of oil services giant Halliburton.

Global Awareness helped organise protests in the US, including one outside a Halliburton shareholder's meeting in May, where it was alleged some protesters assaulted police.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock confirmed Mr Parkin's visa had been pulled on security grounds but gave no further details.

[mdittmar]

Darn it,maybe china or cuba will take him,he can spout off to the kind of governments he loves.

[guitarnick40]

"AN American deemed a national security threat may be deported today."

See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya I say.

[kstewskis]

Ah crap we don't want him!

Good job Mates! Now, if we could only get our US Gov't to do the same with some of these jerks on visas who are stewing their hatred towards us from the mosques.

[JoJo Gunn]

There is no such thing as "non-violent direct action".

[spinestein]

[Protesters yesterday gathered outside the Melbourne Custody Centre, many wearing masking tape across their lips.]




I like the masking tape idea. They aren't as obnoxious when you can't hear them.

Now if they can come up with an idea that would render them invisible as well as inaudible, that would really be something.

I suppose it's asking too much to make them unsmellable.

[spinestein]

[There is no such thing as "non-violent direct action".]



Sure there is. It's right in their Utopian ideology handbook next to "free health care".

[Grampa Dave]

This communist hater of America and his organization, the Houston Global Awareness Collective has a long history.

The Yahoo search link below had over 200,000 hits on this anti American Communist Collective:

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Houston%20Global%20Awareness%20Collective

[Mike Darancette]

Title makes it seem like the guy is being deported for simply being an activist.

[TheClintons-STILLAnti-American]

Darn, I thought this was a feel good story about Cindy Sheehan being sent to the sort of backwater third world country she's so stupid and/pr deluded to believe she lives in now.

[RasterMaster]

"The Texan teacher had been in Australia since June on a six-month visitor's visa as a tourist."

I take it this bozo's teaching license has been revoked as well, in other words...

"YOU'RE FIRED!"

[kingu]

Supporters of Mr Parkin said he was nothing more than a hippie visiting Australia to give workshops on peace and so-called "non-violent direct action". Mr Cass said Mr Parkin had performed street theatre while protesting with the 30A Network outside the international Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney last month.

This is a tourist? Nope. Show the fellow the door and I hope that someone accidentally loses his passport.

[Doofer]

I wonder who's funding this guy? Living in Australia on a visitors visa can't be cheap.......

[highseasailor]

cant we take him out fishin around the same place where those great white sharks have been pickin people off down there in aussieland?

[bpjam]

Can we just skip one step in the process and send him directly to Guantanamo?

[Calpernia]

ping

[JoeSixPack1]

... the problem was that as a peace activist, Mr Parkin had made an enemy of the US Bush Government.

There it is, Bush's fault!

[Just Lori]

"Generally speaking, people in Australia on visas, temporary or permanent, must meet character requirements of the Migration Act."

Character requirements. I REALLY like Australia!

[expatguy]

I find it telling that all these so-called peace activists always show up overseas in the most liberal countries they can find.

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

[Moonman62]

Darn it,maybe china or cuba will take him,he can spout off to the kind of governments he loves.

Send him to France. Greenpeace is one thing they do right.

[kingu]

cant we take him out fishin around the same place where those great white sharks have been pickin people off down there in aussieland?

Just remember - call GreenPeace, let them know about the wackos going out to go shoot the sharks and give them a time to show up.. Chum, a small drill - learn from the Sean Penn mistake and make sure there isn't a cup in the boat.

Yes, this is a joke. You really shouldn't do this. No, I mean it, stop laughing in an evil manner and for pete's sake, make sure you don't take along your vast right wing conspiracy card!