SYDNEY -- Australia's new immigration minister surprised a senate committee Tuesday by saying he had too much power and was uncomfortable "playing God" with people's lives.
Chris Evans' statement came after a series of scandals over the treatment of migrants by the conservative government of former prime minister John Howard, ousted by the center-left Labor Party in November elections.
Evans said there had been a big increase in ministerial intervention in individual migration cases during the Howard government and in some cases people had no right to appeal.
"I have formed the view that I have too much power," he told the senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee.
"The [migration] act is unlike any other act I've seen in terms of the power given to the minister to make decisions about individual cases."
"I am uncomfortable with that, not just because of concern about playing God, but also because of the lack of transparency and accountability for those decisions."
Evans' predecessor last year controversially used his powers to revoke the visa of Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef and force him to leave the country even after a terrorism charge against him was dropped.
Evans said he was considering an ombudsman's report that called for reforms to ministerial powers, including his ability to revoke the visas of long-term permanent residents.
This followed concern about the Howard government's deportation to Serbia of a man who had never lived there and held permanent residency in Australia.
Robert Jovicic, 38, who had lived in Australia since the age of two after being born to Serbian parents in France, was deported in June 2004 after committing a string of offenses in Australia.
Having never previously set foot in Serbia and unable to speak the language, Jovicic found himself homeless in sub-zero temperatures during the Belgrade winter.
He staged a lone protest vowing to die on the steps of the Australian embassy in Belgrade and after a long battle was allowed to return in February last year on a two-year protection visa.
