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Public pressure has been growing to block Brown, whose
California probation stemming from a 2009 plea to assaulting
singer Rihanna was revoked in February, from performing in four
Australian cities in December.
Australian Minister for Women Michaelia Cash, speaking alongside
Turnbull at an event in Canberra highlighting new government
efforts to fight domestic violence, urged Immigration Minister
Peter Dutton to bar the performer.
"People need to understand that if you are going to commit
domestic violence and then you want to travel around the world
there are going to be countries that say to you, 'You cannot
come in because you are not of the character we expect in
Australia'," Cash told reporters.
Dutton has not commented publicly on the issue.
Cash, who was assistant immigration minister until her elevation
to the frontbench this week, previously denied boxer Floyd
Mayweather entry to Australia over his history of domestic
violence.
It is not uncommon for performers with legal troubles to be
refused entry to foreign countries. Brown postponed a British
tour in 2010 after he was denied a visa and in February was
declined entry into Canada.
Turnbull and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was ousted
in a leadership coup last week, have devoted greater resources
to battling domestic violence after a spate of high-profile
deaths.
At least 31 women were killed by their partners in the first 15
weeks of 2015, police figures show, sparking a public outcry and
calls for greater government resources focused on the issue.
The 11-year-old son of Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, who
attended the media event with Turnbull and Cash, was killed by
his father at a cricket training session in Victoria state in
2014.
Neighboring New Zealand has already ruled Brown ineligible for
entry as a result of Britain refusing him admission, casting
doubt over the antipodean leg of his world tour.
(Reporting by Matt Siegel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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