Migrant decision erased from web

THE senior Administrative Appeals Tribunal member who saved sex creep taxi driver Jagdeep Singh from deportation has tried to hide another of her controversial decisions.

The senior Administrative Appeals Tribunal member who saved sex creep taxi driver Jagdeep Singh from deportation has tried to hide another of her controversial decisions.

THE senior Administrative Appeals Tribunal member who saved sex creep taxi driver Jagdeep Singh from deportation has tried to hide another of her controversial decisions.

Documents seen by the Herald Sun reveal Miriam Holmes asked AAT staff to remove one of her written decisions from the publicly accessible website used by courts and other judicial bodies to publish sentences and other legal decisions.

The documents suggest she did so because her written decision contained an error and other material which she was concerned could harm her reputation.

A senior Department of Justice source told the Herald Sun that once a decision was made public, it was incredibly rare for decisions put on the website to be taken down unless there was a solid legal reason to do so, such as a suppression order being issued.

“They certainly aren’t usually removed just because the judge or tribunal member realises what they have said in their written decision might be embarrassing to them,” the source said.

Ms Holmes asked AAT executive officer Anna Piwonski in October last year how the decision could be removed from the Australian Legal Information Institute website.

“I have noted that this has been the subject of adverse comment on a migration website,” Ms Holmes told Ms Piwonski.

“Personal comment has been made about me and I would prefer that this decision is removed — as it is not desirable to keep it up on Austlii for the AAT’s reputation or my reputation.”

The decision she succeeded in getting taken off the Austlii website related to her overturning an order by a delegate for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton not to grant a visa to a New Zealander.

It was just a month later that Ms Holmes refused Mr Dutton’s bid to kick sex creep taxi driver Jagdeep Singh out of Australia.

That controversial decision of Ms Holmes’ to allow Singh to stay here — despite him admitting to sexually attacking a female passenger — also doesn’t appear on the Austlii website for public scrutiny.

Attorney General George Brandis said: ““It is essential to public confidence in our courts and tribunals that all decisions be open, transparent and accessible”.

Attorney-General George Brandis. Picture: AAP

The Herald Sun recently revealed Ms Holmes gave Singh his visa back despite being satisfied he had shown no remorse and saying in her decision that Singh had committed “a significant sexual offence involving a vulnerable member of the public whilst the applicant was engaged as a taxi driver”.

In the case Ms Holmes had removed from the Austlii, she disagreed with the ministerial decision not to grant a New Zealand man a visa.

The New Zealander argued there were a number of reasons beyond his control which resulted in him only applying for a new visa after his old one expired.

That “factors beyond control” argument is usually only upheld in the AAT if it relates to the applicant being unable to make a visa application in time as a result of a serious accident or injury.

In the New Zealander’s case he put forward that he failed to apply for his new visa before his old visa expired because he was called to Sydney to meet urgent work commitments at the same time as being heavily involved in discussions with his builder regarding the construction of a new family home.

Ms Holmes accepted those excuses as contributing to it being out of the New Zealander’s control that he was no longer in possession of a valid visa to stay in Australia.

The AAT yesterday refused to comment on the case.