September 18, 2024
The Albanese government has come under fire after scrapping a ministerial directive that mandated the deportation of bridging visa holders charged with criminal offences.
Labor scrapped Direction 63 after it was deemed to be undermining the presumption of innocence, according to The Australian.
Direction 63 required the cancellation of bridging visas if the holder was charged with or suspected of criminal behaviour.
Implemented by former immigration minister Scott Morrison, the policy drew criticism for potentially deporting individuals before they were proven guilty by the courts.
Former immigration minister Andrew Giles reportedly repealed the directive in January – although the decision was not uncovered until recently.
Following the news, shadow home affairs minister James Paterson called on the Labor government to “step up” and “explain” its decision on Wednesday.
“Why have they quietly repealed this without so much as standing up and explaining why – or issuing a media release?” Mr Paterson asked.
While Mr Giles made public other decisions, including an announcement of direction 110, he never revealed the scrapping of 63.
Directive 63 had ruled: “Where Bridging Visa E holders are charged with a criminal offence, a delegate of the Minister will consider cancellation.”
“In the case of a non-citizen who… would be subject to detention, it is a privilege and not a right to be allowed to live in the community while their immigration status is being resolved.”
The Australian Human Rights Commission Report 2019 recommended the government “remove a criminal charge as a prescribed ground for cancellation”.
Legal experts have argued the direction undermined the presumption of innocence as individuals charged with crimes were not necessarily guilty.
However, Mr Paterson responded to this criticism and said: “If you’re subsequently found to be innocent, then you can be released from immigration detention”.
“If you break the law or commit a serious offence or are charged with a serious offence, well then your privilege of being free in the community… should be taken away.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 97 per cent of individuals charged with crimes and receiving court judgements were ultimately found to be guilty.
Data obtained by SkyNews.com.au in August revealed 28 of 150 NZYQ former immigration detainees had been charged with 90 federal offences.
Immigration has been set to become a key election issue as the Coalition has attacked the government over its handling of NZYQ and Palestinian visas.
More than 900 Palestinians, who arrived in Australia on tourist visas amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, have now applied for asylum.
Shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan has criticised the government’s handling of this situation and argued issuing tourist visas was a mistake.
“We have this situation where they’ve (Palestinians) come here and over 70 per cent of them have now claimed for asylum,” Mr Tehan told Sky News Australia on Tuesday.
“My view is over the coming months we'll see that go higher and it'll reach 90-95 per cent.
“And that's just not the right way to be bringing people to this nation. Once again, it's a mess.”
According to an Ipsos poll from earlier this year, one in three (34 per cent) of Australians believe “Australia would be stronger if we stopped immigration”.
