Kiwi convicted murderer Julius Graff will be kicked out of Australia despite his plea to stay. The 38-year-old hoped to stay in Australia because he had no family or close friends in New Zealand, but his visa was cancelled on character grounds.

Graff was convicted of murder, robbery and assault in 1998 for a series of street attacks, including killing taxi driver Youssef Chmeis. He and two other hailed Chmeis’ taxi on May 25, 1996 outside the Wiley Park Hotel, and then proceeded to beat him when they were driven to a dead end. They stripped him of his clothing and whipped him with his own belt. They drove off in his car. Chmeis was seen by night-shift factory workers, and was taken to the hospital after the witnesses called the police. He died in the hospital.

Graff, who was just 22 then, and his cohorts also attacked another taxi driver ten days earlier, leaving the driver with a permanent brain damage. He committed two other street assaults while he was on bail. He was sentenced to 23 years for murder with an 18 year minimum parole period.

In October 2014, the then-minister for immigration and border protection, Scott Morrison, cancelled Graff’s visa to stay in Australia in October, citing character grounds.

“I consider Mr Graff’s violent crimes, resulting in one person dead, one injured and one permanently incapacitated, are contrary to the values held by the Australian community,” Morrison said. “In this case, I find Mr Graff’s criminal conduct to be repugnant.”

Graff has been living in Australia for 21 years, and his family, including his parents and six brothers, are all in Tasman. He argued that his parents will need his care once he is freed from prison.

He has also fathered a son and now has a granddaughter in Australia. His family has spent tens of thousands of dollars to appeal the decision to have him dumped in New Zealand, but in the end, the seriousness of his crimes proved to be too strong a factor to let him stay in the country. Justice Anna Katzmann dismissed his application and ordered him to pay costs.

Graff’s father Joe Graff told the Herald on Sunday his son would likely seek a job in construction in Christchurch. His brother Barry added that Graff would have a better chance of a good life in Australia, where his whole family lives.