Mongols bikie Andrew Peter Stevens loses immigration case, has one last chance to avoid deportation to the UK

A SENIOR Mongols bikie’s chances of release from detention on Christmas Island, and avoiding deportation to the UK, now rest on a Constitutional challenge filed by a stranger.

A SENIOR Mongols bikie’s chances of release from detention on Christmas Island, and avoiding deportation to the UK, now rest on a Constitutional challenge filed by a stranger.

On Wednesday, the Federal Court rejected Andrew Peter Stevens’ claim his Australian visa had been cancelled, unreasonably, on character grounds.

However, Justice Natalie Charlesworth said she could not finalise Stevens’ case as part of his claim matched an argument being heard in the Full Court of the Federal Court next month.

She adjourned final determination of Stevens’ fate until the conclusion of that case — leaving the Mongols treasurer in immigration detention limbo in the meantime.

Stevens is a UK citizen who has moved to Australia with his parents in 1971, aged nine.

His visa was cancelled in June, when Immigration Minister Peter Dutton ordered both he and key Comanchero Paul Burgess be deported on character grounds.

More than 80 bikies, sex offenders and drug traffickers have had their visas cancelled in the past two years.

Adelaide underworld figure Leonard Gjeka was deported to his native Albania in late 2014.

Richmond AFL footballer Dustin Martin’s father had links to bikie gangs and was deported to New Zealand earlier this year.

Wednesday’s judgment followed Stevens’ plea for an expedited hearing, filed after his Thebarton gym burned down.

It was the second arson attack against his businesses in four days, following on from the destruction of Hyperperformance Cycles at Ridgehaven.

SA Police believe they know the motive for both arson attacks but do not have information sufficient to lead to arrests.

In her judgment, Justice Charlesworth said she was satisfied Mr Dutton had properly weighed “all of the matters” he was required to, by law, in reaching his decision.

She said the decision displayed neither unreasonableness nor jurisdictional error, nor that he had made errors about Stevens’ rehabilitation.

“The Minister did not, in any event, infer ‘lack of rehabilitation’ as alleged (by Stevens),” she said.

“He went no further than to conclude Stevens may have rehabilitated, but that his membership of the Mongols was a countervailing consideration in that regard.

“There is, in my opinion, some intelligible justification underlying that reasoning.”

Justice Charlesworth said Mr Dutton was allowed to consider the threat posed by outlaw gangs “generally”, not require specific evidence of Stevens’ chapter having committed crimes.

“Further, it was open to him to proceed on the basis that exclusion of (outlaw gang) members will contribute to national law enforcement efforts by disabling such groups,” she said.

She said that, if the Full Court ruled against the argument also being made by Stevens, the matter would not be brought back before her.

Should that case succeed, she said, Stevens’ case would return on a date to be set.