"We've got enough wife-beaters": rapper Chris Brown may be barred from Australia and New Zealand for Rihanna assault

Australia on Thursday warned US rapper Chris Brown could be denied a visa for an upcoming tour because of his criminal record, as it unveiled a A$100 million (HK$540 million) package to end the “national disgrace” of domestic violence.

“Violence against women is one of the great shames of Australia. It is a national disgrace,” Turnbull said, adding that a “big cultural shift” was needed to defeat it.

Michaelia Cash – appointed Minister of Women on Sunday – said the government was “very seriously” considering refusing R&B star Brown entry to Australia over his conviction for a 2009 assault on pop diva Rihanna.

Brown, who won a 2012 Grammy for best R&B album with “F.A.M.E.”, is scheduled to hold a series of concerts in December, but the activist group GetUp is campaigning against letting in the singer, who has been barred from other countries including Britain and Canada.

“I can assure you it is something that the minister (for immigration) is looking at,” Cash said, saying she would recommend a ban.