November 23, 2023
Labor has no way to know which of the convicted criminals released from immigration detention by the High Court are a risk as “little effort” was put into their rehabilitation due to the belief they would not be allowed back into the community.
At least 111 foreigners have now been released, including convicted murderers, rapists and people smugglers, since the court ruling against their indefinite detention two weeks ago.
But six days after emergency laws were passed mandating the detainees wear electronic ankle monitors, the federal government would not reveal exactly how many individuals had been fitted with the devices.
A government spokeswoman said the most “urgent attention” had been focused on high risk offenders, with the remainder of the “rollout of … devices continuing with activities underway this week”.
A source who worked closely with many of the individuals in detention, but was not authorised to speak publicly, has revealed the electronic monitoring is a crucial safety step as the cohort received minimal rehabilitation.
“All these people have served their jail time, they have done things and served a sentence, as any other person would,” the source said.
“I know some of these immigrants … and some of them will be fine to go back into the community.
“But the trouble for the government is that they don’t really know who is and who isn’t safe now.”
The source said it was generally accepted from the moment the asylum seekers were jailed they would never return to Australian society.
“So there has been little effort put into rehabilitation,” the source said.
“Then they went into detention and there was even less effort put into rehabilitation.
“And so now, there are all these people on the streets, and the government doesn’t know who has and hasn’t been rehabilitated, and who is and isn’t safe to be out. That’s why they have to track them.”
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil on Wednesday morning was unable to answer how many electronic monitors had been fitted, and declined to give the figure later in the day after receiving a briefing on the matter.
Ms O’Neil said she would be examining “every and all options” to protect the community.
“With regard to the preventative detention regime, this is absolutely something that government is considering,” she said.
Ms O’Neil said Labor’s job now was to “manage” the court decision in a way that “best protects the safety of the Australian community”.
“If it were up to me, none of these people would have been released from detention and if I had any legal power, all of them would be right back in detention, it’s the High Court’s decision that makes that legally impossible.”
Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson welcomed Labor’s openness to instituting a preventative or continuing detention order regime as called for by the Opposition.
“The government first said that his couldn’t be done,” he said.
“Then they said it couldn’t be done until the High Court has handed down its reasons, and now the government has admitted that they’re looking at it.”
State and territory police ministers are due to meet on Thursday, but the monitoring of the asylum seekers is not on the agenda.
It is understood the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force are responsible for fitting the detainees with electronic monitoring ankle bracelets, while state police ensure any individuals subjected to AVOs or listed on sex offender registers comply with those orders.
