Well that’s seven who might be staying in Australia now!

Stuff reports:

Seven New Zealanders have been flown off Christmas Island, as images emerge of the damage caused by rioting at the detention centre.

The ABC reported it had witnessed detainees being transported to the Christmas Island airport.

Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton subsequently confirmed their removal to a correctional facility in Western Australia.

Looks like they may get to stay in Australia after all now! Of course in a prison, if they get sentenced.

“They are among a group of extreme-risk individuals who are alleged to have been involved in the disturbance at the centre,” he told the ABC.

The men, who were handcuffed, said they were from New Zealand and claimed to be on their way to a prison in Perth.

Remember that some of the asylum seekers at Christmas Island said they lived in fear of these guys, and were often beaten up by then. They are not nice individuals.

That doesn’t mean that every person caught up in this new Australian policy is bad. The case of the former Kiwi soldier is a case in point. It appears he has committed no offence, except join a motorcycle gang or club. There may of course be more to the story than we know at this stage.

However Australia gets to decide who stays in Australia. And if they tell you you are no longer legally able to live in Australia, then the best thing to do is leave, and come back to New Zealand – if you are a citizen. You can fight your appeal from here, and in fact I read somewhere around a third of the appeals have been successful. But helping cause a riot won’t help your appeal.

I think the new Australian policy is overly harsh and inflexible. But that doesn’t mean it is a breach of human rights. NZ sometimes detains people for immigration reasons also – Ahmed Zaoui was detained for a lengthy time when Labour were in Government here.