Susie O’Brien: Dustin Martin’s dad not some kind of flawed hero
SHANE Martin has received sympathy since being kicked out of the country. But let’s not forget why the government acted, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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FORMER Rebels leader Shane Martin shouldn’t be allowed back into Australia because of his criminal past and outlaw bikie gang links.
He should stay out, even if it means he won’t get to watch his son Dustin receive a Brownlow Medal or potentially take part in Richmond’s first Grand Final since 1980.
Shane Martin says he’s a victim of his son’s success but he’s a victim of his own actions and associations. In fact, Dustin Martin’s football skills have afforded his father a huge amount of sympathy he doesn’t deserve.
If Dustin wasn’t a famous footballer, few outside of his family would care that his father is no longer welcome in Australia.
Most people applaud steps taken to ensure criminals are stripped of their rights to live in this country.
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Until recently, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s push to expel outlaw motorcycle gang members and leaders was met with near-universal approval.
In recent weeks, the tide has turned, largely due to sympathetic media coverage about Shane Martin and his son, the football star. That includes a recent segment on The Footy Show.
Dutton has always made it clear exceptional circumstances, such as illness in the family, will be taken into account in such decisions. Having a son who’s playing in a football final or in the running to get a coveted football medal should not count as exceptional circumstances.
The decision to deport Shane Martin needs to be placed in context. He was a leader of a Sydney chapter of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang. In recent decades, the club has been responsible for a number of murders, extortion, sexual assaults and shootings, not to mention major drug and weapon-smuggling rings. Organised crime authorities say bikie gangs operate as part of a multi-billion-dollar underground economy composed of legal and illegal businesses.
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DUSTIN MARTIN WANTS HIS FATHER SHANE TO BE ALLOWED BACK IN AUSTRALIA FOR BROWNLOW NIGHT
Justice Minister Michael Keenan told the Herald Sun last year, during the reign of Rebels leader Alex Vella, “our law enforcement agencies arrested more than 3000 Rebels members and associates on more than 4200 charges, ranging from serious assault and kidnapping offences to firearms and drug offences”.
Shane Martin has pointed out that he hasn’t had any convictions since 2004, but as Dutton has explained, it’s not just about criminal activity, it’s about character. I would argue being a leader of an outlaw motorcycle gang is evidence of a serious lack of character.
Make no mistake: this is no “modern-day stolen generation”, as some are claiming.
Interestingly, Shane Martin did claim Aboriginal ancestry last year in a bid to boost his chances of overturning the ban. A document backing him up, however, has since been revoked by the indigenous body that issued it.
In recent days, Dutton has suggested Shane Martin is still involved with the Rebels, stressing that the decision to keep him out of Australia rests on both public and confidential information from police, ASIO, the Australian Crime Commission and other agencies.
Shane Martin may say the Rebels are hardworking and law-abiding: “We just hung out and rode Harleys,” he told the Herald Sun. But there is plenty of evidence to show that is not the case.
Since 1990, Shane Martin has been charged with unlawful assault, burglary, being armed with intent, criminal damage and resisting police.
He has also been fined for possessing a restricted substance on four occasions, and in 2004, received a two-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, for aiding and abetting in the trafficking of ecstasy.
So in the coming weeks, as Richmond’s hopes of winning a Grand Final stay alive, don’t think just about how Shane Martin has been “parted from his new bride” or “separated from his beloved son”.
Think about the destruction and grief that bikie gangs like the Rebels cause in our society.
Complicating matters is the fact that the High Court has ruled the government was wrong to kick out two men accused of being Rebels bikies.
The court found the men’s visas had been cancelled on the basis of secret information that wasn’t disclosed to them.
That prompted the government to rush through a new law to stop them and up to 20 others — including Shane Martin — from re-entering the country.
The federal government must ensure their process is watertight and meets all standards of public accountability, but let’s not forget it is not taking away these men without cause.
There’s no doubt emotions are running high in the Martin family as Dustin carries the hopes of generations of frustrated Richmond fans on his shoulders.
Although I wish Richmond all the best, I’m behind the government on this one. Shane Martin is going to have to watch his son play football on TV, like the rest of us.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist
DUSTIN MARTIN’S DAD SHUT OUT OF AUSTRALIA BY NEW LAW
DUSTIN MARTIN WANTS HIS FATHER SHANE TO BE ALLOWED BACK IN AUSTRALIA FOR BROWNLOW NIGHT
DUSTY’S DAD’S DOES NOT WANT DEPORTATION FIGHT TO DISTRACT SON
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