Tyson refused New Zealand visa again

Former
heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has been refused a visa to visit New
Zealand as part of a series of motivational speeches for the second time, the
country’s government said on Friday.

The 46-year-old Tyson, who served
three years of a six-year U.S. jail sentence for rape, needed dispensation
under New Zealand immigration laws because of his conviction.

He had initially been granted a visa
by Associate Immigration Minister Kate Wilkinson to visit New Zealand, but that
was revoked when a youth charity which originally backed his appearance at the
Auckland event no longer wanted to have anything to do with the visit.

Promoters applied for a new visa after
a second community group said it would support the application in exchange for
him talking to at-risk youth.

“The original decision in respect of
Mr Tyson was a finely balanced call based on the letter of support from a board
member of the Life Education Trust,” Wilkinson said in a statement.

“When the Trust withdrew its support I
received another application from Mr Tyson’s representatives with the support
of the Manukau Urban Maori Authority.”