POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
PO Box A1097, Sydney South, NSW 1232
PHONE: (02) 9265 6777 FAX: (02) 9265 6789 EAGLENET 57071
Circular 13
9 April 2010
Cop killer to be set free in Australia thanks to loophole
Revelations the killer of NSW Senior Constable Glenn McEnally will be released back into
Australian society, rather than be deported back to his native Tonga due to a legal
loophole, has outraged police.
The Police Association of NSW (PANSW) said the decision by the Federal Court to
uphold Motekiai Taufehama’s appeal and allow him to remain in Australia once his prison
sentence ends is offensive and highlights the need for the system to be overhauled.
“If NSW Police had first been notified of Taufehama’s appeal against the cancellation of
his visa, the Federal Court’s decision may have been very different,” PANSW vice
president Scott Weber said.
“What concerns us most is that through some loophole, the NSW Police were never
notified of Taufehama’s appeal. If they had been, the courts would have known the danger
he presents to society.
“We are asking the Minister for Immigration, Senator Evans, to continue to show strong
leadership on this issue and exhaust all legal avenues to overturn this decision, and to
ensure it can never happen again.”
Scott Weber said it was outrageous that the court has judged a notorious cop killer to
have passed a ‘character test’ that would allow his visa to be extended so he could stay in
Australia.
“This man is a danger to society and the decision to release him back into the Australian
community is one that should never have been made.
“People who come to Australia and commit serious crimes such as murder or
manslaughter should forfeit their right to stay in this country.
“Taufehama presents a danger to the community. He has been in Australia for 21 years,
12 of them in a prison cell,” Scott Weber said.
Taufehama has a lengthy record of violent crime, including his conviction for
manslaughter over the death of Senior Constable Glenn McEnallay.
