A NEWCASTLE bikie who police say fled to New Zealand after allegedly shooting a high-ranking Finks member and then spent years languishing in jail awaiting extradition has finally been handed over to authorities in NSW.
The Newcastle Herald reported in February that Harley Charles Austin, 36, who at least as of 2017 was a member of the Newcastle Finks, was said to be desperate to return to Australia to defend charges that he shot another gang member at Waratah in June 2017.
A few days after the alleged shooting, Mr Austin, who is of Aboriginal descent, used his New Zealand passport to board a plane for Auckland.
By October of that year Mr Austin had been arrested in New Zealand for conspiring to damage property by fire. He was jailed for a maximum of four years and nine months, with a non-parole period of two years.
But after his non-parole period expired in October, 2019, Mr Austin was denied parole at least 10 times - including this year on Australia Day.
Mr Austin's Newcastle solicitor Chris O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald in February that despite submitting to extradition and petitioning the New Zealand government to fast track his deportation to Australia to face the shooting charges, Mr Austin remained behind bars while authorities on both sides of the ditch point fingers and drag their heels, a situation Mr O'Brien said was a breach of Mr Austin's human rights.
It appeared the New Zealand parole board wouldn't release Mr Austin while he had an active extradition warrant. But the warrant, which was granted in September 2020, did not seem to be a priority for Australian authorities and by last month, before authorities finally acted to extradite Mr Austin to NSW, the 36-year-old was getting close to serving his entire sentence - four years and nine months - behind bars in New Zealand. Mr Austin, who has been charged with a string of offences including discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, was refused bail in Central Local Court late last month upon his return to Australia. He will next appear in court in May.
