Saturday, July 12, 1997
     
Ervin calls on Howard to apologise

     CAPTION:
     
     By JODIE BROUGH, in Canberra
     
     Triumphant ... Lorenzo Ervin on his release, yesterday. Photo by
     GREG WHITE
     
     The Prime Minister was humiliated in the High Court yesterday when
     the Government agreed to an order cancelling its decision to revoke
     the visa of the former Black Panther and hijacker Mr Lorenzo Ervin,
     and pay his legal costs.
     
     A triumphant Mr Ervin emerged from jail in Brisbane demanding that
     Mr Howard apologise for his shabby treatment, as the Opposition
     Leader, Mr Beazley, said the Government looked like "a bunch of
     prats".
     
     Independent MP Ms Pauline Hanson, who had demanded Mr Ervin's
     deportation, said she accepted the outcome but warned his speaking
     tour was "not in the best interest of any Australians, and can only
     lead to further trouble and breakdown in the reconciliation
     process". Mr Ervin's victory may be short-lived, with his lawyer,
     Mr Terry Fisher, saying it was likely the Government would try to
     revoke the visa again next week.
     
     He said the Department of Immigration had told him he would have to
     answer a series of questions about Mr Ervin's criminal convictions
     by Monday. Meanwhile, Mr Ervin said he was considering legal action
     against Mr Howard for claiming that he had misrepresented his name
     and criminal record in his visa application.
     
     The Commonwealth Solicitor-General, Dr Gavan Griffith, QC, proposed
     the consent order on behalf of the Government as the hearing
     opened, in an admission that the Government could not prove its
     argument that natural justice did not apply in Mr Ervin's case. Mr
     Ervin said he had never been allowed to answer the allegations
     against him. It was also revealed that the acting Minister for
     Immigration, Senator Vanstone, did not write a note or memo giving
     reasons for cancelling Mr Ervin's visa. Instead, she noted her
     decision without reasons at the end of a three-page immigration
     brief on his criminal record and background.
     
     Senator Vanstone admitted Mr Ervin was "not afforded appropriate
     procedural rights" but said she was only guilty of a "technical"
     breach of the law.
     
     "The decision today had no bearing on the real issue of this
     matter, namely, whether or not Mr Ervin is a person of good
     character," she said, adding that the Government was considering
     how it would resolve the matter.
     
     Mr Fisher said the case was a victory for free speech and showed
     the court would not be "intimidated by the tactics of bully
     politicians".The Free Speech Committee blasted Senator Vanstone's
     statement, saying it was a technical breach of Mr Ervin's rights as
     "a symptom of the ill-considered, wobbly and misconceived
     understanding which this Government has about something so basic as
     fairness". Mr Howard's office declined to comment.