March 26, 2024
The Coalition will decide on Wednesday whether to pass "rushed" laws bolstering powers to deport and detain non-citizens, following a last-minute Senate committee hearing with Home Affairs officials on Tuesday night.
The Albanese government passed immigration law changes through Parliament's lower house on Tuesday in an effort to head off a High Court decision that might otherwise see hundreds of long-term detainees released.
Coalition and crossbench senators were only briefed on the legislation hours before it passed, in a rapid process that has been slammed "undemocratic", "botched" and "panicked" by politicians across the aisle.
The changes, if passed through the Senate, will give the immigration minister the power to order non-citizens, who have exhausted all paths to stay in Australia, to take action to facilitate their own removal, including completing documentation or attending appointments.
Failure to follow the orders, without a reasonable excuse, would constitute a criminal offence with a mandatory minimum of one year in prison, and a maximum sentence of five years.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the changes would provide the government with the "necessary tools to strengthen our immigration compliance framework".
"The Albanese government is committed to strengthening Australia's migration system, making it better, stronger and fairer," he said.
The Greens have vowed to oppose the changes in the Senate, with immigration spokesperson David Shoebridge accusing the government of "coming up with new and novel ways to be cruel, particularly to refugees and asylum seekers in the country".
But the Coalition has said it's still considering its position, and supported the legislation's passage in the House.
Opposition leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, said if Coalition senators are satisfied with the legislation after Tuesday night's hearing, "it could pass this week in keeping with the government's plans". However, he did not give any assurances.
The proposed legislation would insert an express statement of Parliament's intent into the Migration Act, declaring that non-citizens who have no valid reason to stay in Australia should leave voluntarily, or should co-operate with their lawful removal from Australia.
The changes would also give the minister the power to designate a country that refuses to accept returns of its own citizens as a "removal concern country", preventing most nationals of that country from being able to make Australian visa applications.
The laws would apply to unlawful non-citizens who are subject to removal powers under the Migration Act; Bridging (Removal Pending) visa holders; and Subclass 050 (Bridging (General)) visa holders who hold the visa on the basis of making acceptable arrangements to leave Australia, among others.
The government's move comes ahead of a High Court decision that seeks to answer whether it is legal to detain people who refuse to cooperate with their deportation, which could see more than 170 people released from detention, Guardian Australia reported last week.
The laws passed the House on Tuesday following a heated debate, which saw members of the crossbench slam the government for trying to rush powerful laws through without scrutiny.
Independent Warringah MP Zali Steggall described the government's actions as "outrageous and incredibly undemocratic".
"It is an absolute parody of what this place is supposed to be about in relation to looking at what good legislation can do, having the time to consider whether it has unintended consequences," she told the House.
Shadow immigration spokesman Dan Tehan also criticised Labor for a "rushed and botched" process, and accused the government of withholding the draft laws, which he said are dated to last Friday.
"Why the lack of transparency? Why the lack of bipartisanship? Why can't the government get anything right when it comes to immigration detention?" he said.
Mr Tehan's colleague, opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson, also told Sky News on Tuesday morning that he was "gravely" concerned the government wanted to pass the changes within 36 hours "without so much as a Senate inquiry, let alone releasing this legislation publicly for comment from stakeholders and experts and others".
Meanwhile, refugee and human rights advocates have voiced concerns over the changes, with Asylum Seekers Centre chief executive Frances Rush describing the proposed legislation as "draconian" and "inhumane".
"These laws put Australia at risk of breaching its international obligations by forcibly removing refugees to places where they face persecution and harm," Ms Rush said in a statement.
