2015/17: Should R & B singer Chris Brown be denied entry to Australia?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:On September 23, 2015, the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the Minister for Women, Michaelia Cash, announced the government's new $100 million Women's Safety Package. As part of the announcement Turnbull stated that we must come to see it as 'un-Australian' to disrespect women. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'People need to understand, if you are going to commit domestic violence and then you want to travel around the world there are going to be countries that say to you, "You cannot come in because you are not of the character that we expect in Australia"'
The federal Minister for Women, Michaelia Cash
'At best, a ban on Brown is a distraction, a cheap headline-grabbing stunt that takes the focus away from the real work - and the allocation of real resources - necessary to make women safe'
Jeff Sparrow, writing for The Guardian
The issue at a glance
On September 25, 2015, officials acting for the federal Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, issued United States R&B singer, Chris Brown, with a Notice of Intention to Consider Refusal of the singer's visa application.
Brown has shows booked in Australia in December for his One Hell of a Nite tour. Tickets went on sale for these shows on Monday, September 28, 2015, despite the uncertainty surrounding Brown's visa application.
The singer has 28 days from the time the Notice of Intention was issued to demonstrate why he is a fit and proper person to be given a visa.
It appears the Notice of Intention was issued because of concerns about Brown's 2009 conviction for assault against his then girlfriend, the singer, Rihanna. The Migration Act allows the Immigration Minister to deny entry to Australia on a number of grounds, including 'character'. One indication of unsuitable character is a prior criminal conviction.
The decision is, however, open to ministerial discretion, and critics have claimed that the possible denial of entry to Brown is an over-reaction and inequitable.
The debate continues, with the social media protest group, GetUp, withdrawing its 15,000 signature petition which demanded the government refuse to admit Brown because it was concerned the demand might appear racist.
Both Brown's parents are African-American and he also claims to have Pamunkey Native American ancestry.