Senate debates

Thursday, 10 September 2009

MR Guy Campos

9:51 am

Photo of Joe LudwigJoe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The motion calls on the government to ensure that Mr Guy Campos remains in Australia until investigations against him are finalised. For the record, Mr Campos is currently in Australia on a bridging visa issued by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The AFP is investigating allegations relating to the conduct of Mr Campos in East Timor in the 1990s. It is this government’s position that we do acknowledge the grief of people whose lives have been deeply affected as a result of the conflict in East Timor over many years. This motion is misleading and inappropriate as it is currently formulated. As Mr Campos is currently lawfully in Australia on a bridging visa, he is free to leave the country if he chooses to do so. As Mr Campos is currently lawfully in Australia on a bridging visa, a criminal justice stay visa cannot be issued. It is unclear whether the senator is seeking a change to the law and to our system of justice. It is also unclear what the senator has in mind for keeping Mr Campos in the country or what he thinks this motion might lawfully achieve under our current law. The senator has been kept informed of the steps that agencies have taken in relation to Guy Campos and is aware—

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