Cop killer among foreign nationals to be deported in government crackdown
One of Sydney's most notorious cop killers is among more than 1000 foreign nationals marked for deportation for violent crimes.
The family of murdered Constable David Carty is delighted with the government's latest hard stance, but civil libertarians have described the laws as "nasty".
Iraqi man Dawood Odishou, who tortured and murdered Constable Carty in 1997, has been deported from Australia.
The Carty family told Seven News they're pleased with the decision, calling it "common sense".
More than 1200 criminals' visas were cancelled in 2017, with more than a third coming from New South Wales.
These included seven convicted of murder, five for manslaughter and 16 for sexual offences.
A further 14 were charged with child sex crimes while over 200 were for other violent crimes.
"If you invite someone into your house, your expect them to not wreck the place," Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said.
"Our decision to cancel their visas, to kick them out of our country, makes our country a safer place today."
But NSW Council for Civil Liberties' Stephen Blanks criticised the action, believing it is too harsh.
"A case of the government being nasty to people who they can be nasty to and who can't defend themselves," he said.
One immigration law expert told Seven News they believe the government isn't being strict enough and has called for a database to be created which tracks every foreigner convicted of an indictable offence.
Victim Advocate Howard Brown was in agreement.
"These people come to our country knowing what the rules are," he said.
"The moment they choose to ignore those rules, their civil liberties go out the door."
