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Freedom for 520 in Labor's first year

July 27, 2024

Saturday 27 July 2024
Rhiannon Down
The Australian


 The Albanese government released more than 500 dangerous non-citizens from  immigration detention in its first year in power, new figures reveal, as it  braces for an upcoming High Court fight that could see more foreign criminals  released.
 
 An analysis of new data shows 520 non-citizens, who were denied a visa  because they had criminal convictions or failed other character requirements,  were released into the community in the year leading up to June last year,  compared to about 178 under the last year of the Coalition government.
 
 Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was forced to release 183 non-citizens from  immigration detention after the Federal Court ruled in December 2022, that a  prison sentence of 12 months or more for multiple offences called an  aggregate sentence did not trigger an automatic visa cancellation.
 
 The landmark court decision, known as the Pearson case, prompted Labor to ram  changes to the Migration Act through the parliament to clarify that aggregate  sentences of more than 12 months would breach the character test, leading to  those who were released having their visas cancelled.
 
 The new figures, released after a question on notice lodged in the Senate,  shows that 171 noncitizens who failed the character test were released the  month the Pearson decision was handed down.
 
 The revelations come as the Albanese government grapples with the  ramifications of the separate landmark High Court ruling, known as NZYQ,  which triggered the release of more than 150 non-citizens, many with criminal  records.
 
 Amid speculation that Mr Giles and Home Affairs Minister Minister Clare  O'Neil could be removed from the portfolios in an upcoming reshuffle  following months of immigration debacles, opposition home affairs spokesman  James Paterson renewed calls for the embattled ministers to be axed.
 
 "From the moment Clare O'Neil and Andrew Giles settled into their  ministerial suites, at least 520 dangerous foreign criminals would be  released into the community in the government's first 12 months in  office," he said.
 
 "Labor's soft touch on community safety has left Australians dangerously  exposed. It is past time for Anthony Albanese to finally sack the hapless  Minister for Home Affairs and the hopeless Immigration Minister and clean up  this mess."
 
 While Labor sources sought to downplay the data, cautioning that it included  duplications, a spokeswoman for Mr Giles said the government's "top  priority is and will always be community safety".
 
 "That is why we have introduced a suite of new powers since coming to  office, and it is why the government will continue to cancel the visas of any  individuals who pose a risk to the community," she said.
 
 New Zealander Kate Pearson's visa was cancelled after she was sentenced to  more than four years' jail for 10 offences, and the decision was upheld by  the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. She was released from immigration  detention after she won an appeal in the Federal Court on December 22, 2022.  After Labor passed the changes to the Migration Act, Pearson was returned to  immigration detention last September, and a High Court hearing is scheduled  for October.
 
 The legislation allowed the government to cancel the visas of the 183  non-citizens who were released following the Federal Court decision by  applying the changes retrospectively. Only 23 of those released after Pearson  remain in the community.
 
 'Labor's soft touch on community safety has left Australians dangerously  exposed' james paterson opposition home affairs spokesman

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