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Whale activist hits visa hurdle
THE Federal Immigration Department has cracked down on Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson, demanding to know the anti-whaling group leader’s police and court records as it reviews his visa.
Until now, authorities had let Captain Watson, who holds a US passport, come and go from his Australian-based ship on a tourist visa. The department has told him he must satisfy exhaustive new good-character requirements to get a business visa. An email exchange shows the Australian Embassy in Washington wants Captain Watson’s bill of legal health from Norway, where his group claims it sank whaling ships.
Andrew Darby, The Age