Briton Faces Deportation Under Australian Laws

A 51-year-old British citizen, who has lived in Australia since he was one year old, is facing deportation to the UK under strict new immigration laws.

Ian Wightman was last year convicted of starting a bushfire in Western Australia, and subsequently served 15 months in jail.

After being released, he was then detained by immigration staff and is now being held in a detention centre on the remote Australian territory of Christmas Island.

Mr Wightman, who has family in Australia, has described the situation as "mind-numbingly degrading".

"It's an open-ended sentence and there's no information, you can't get any information," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Under Australia’s new migration laws, anyone who has been sentenced to a jail term of 12 months or more fails the ‘character test’, which then gives the government the power to cancel their visa.

Mr Wightman has only returned to the UK once since moving to Australia 50 years ago.

His father, mother, and siblings all call Australia home. His partner of more than 25 years is an Australian citizen.

Mr Wightman’s lawyer, Alisdair Putt, says even though his client has "strong ties" to his adopted country, he could end up being sent back to the UK.

"In an effort to protect Australia, a lot of other people have been caught up (in the legal changes)," Mr Putt told Sky News.

Mr Wightman is not alone. Hundreds of other people, who have called Australia home for most of their life, are in a similar situation because of the new laws.

"I’ve got several UK clients, so there must be a lot of others around the country," Mr Putt said.

Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has previously dismissed concerns about the new laws, arguing that people with criminal records are "detracting" from society.