US rapper Chris Brown has reportedly hired a team of Australian lawyers to help him appeal the Australian Government’s decision to deny him a visa to enter the country for his upcoming One Hell Of A Nite Tour, which is scheduled for December.
According to Sky News, Brown has recruited a group of Australian legal specialists to work on an appeal against the Government’s decision to deny him a visa, which came in the form notice of intent to refuse on Friday night, 25th September.
Brown has 28 days to appeal after receiving the Government’s notice of intent, giving him and his team four weeks to put together any material which could convince Australian authorities that he should have the right to enter the country despite his history of domestic violence against former girlfriend Rihanna.
New Zealand, whose Immigration spokesman Marc Piercey recently said the country may deny Brown entry if he is “excluded from another country”, has since had two prominent public figures call for Brown to be allowed into New Zealand.
As New Zealand Herald reports, Tukoroirangi Morgan, a spokesman for New Zealand’s Maori King Tuheitia Paki, says the King and his son Whatumoana Paki would “be seriously interested in hosting” Brown if he was allowed to enter New Zealand.
“I understand [Brown] has been through a major reformation process,” Mr Morgan says. “He has a child. He has paid for his sins.”
Former Maori Party leader Dame Tariana Turia, who has worked to reduce domestic violence for decades, says Brown should be let in because he can help reduce domestic violence in New Zealand.
“I think we should be prepared to be open to listening to others who are experienced in this area,” Ms Turia says.
“We may not like [Brown’s] behavior at the time but I firmly believe he can get through to people who we would normally not get through to in the course of all the money we are spending and the programs we have got.
“I’m a firm believer in the philosophy of forgiveness. I believe people can change. We continue to isolate people and make them believe there is nothing about them that is good – and we know that is not true.
“If Chris Brown was willing to come, willing to share some of his time with our young, I am sure would love to spend time with him, I can only think of the benefit to them rather than focus on what he did in his past.”
With tickets to Brown’s upcoming Australian tour on sale despite the singer not yet securing a visa, organisers of his run of Aussie dates have said they “have faith” the Australian Government will consider Brown’s “continued personal growth, on-going philanthropic endeavors and desire to perform for his fans” in deciding whether to stick with its intention to deny him a visa or to change its mind entirely.
Brown, who has toured in Australia twice since his conviction for felony assault and making criminal threats in 2009, has called his visa denial “all media and bullshit”, telling fans, “I’m coming… We gone party.”
UPDATE 02/12/15: Just a week before it was scheduled to kick off, Chris Brown’s Australian and New Zealand tour has been officially cancelled.
