November 14, 2023
The Albanese government will legislate to circumvent last week's High Court decision which has forced the immediate release from immigration detention of 80 criminals, including murderers and child rapists.
But the government will have to wait until the court publishes its reasons for the decision before it can draft the legislation, which may push the process into next year.
In the interim, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said all 80 people who had been released so far had been placed on a special visa "to ensure community safety can be upheld".
This includes requirements to report regularly to the department on any changes to their circumstances including personal details, address, social media profiles or employment. In addition, they are subject to monitoring by state and territory police with the assistance of the Australian Federal Police.
"Depending on the nature of the offending, depending on the circumstances of the individual, there will be appropriate responses under state and federal regimes," he said.
"But we are also ensuring that we have both visa requirements and other requirements put in place that ensure community safety."
The situation was due to be discussed at last night's federal cabinet meeting and the government was also considering regulation to circumvent the court ruling until legislation could be drafted and put through parliament.
"We have immediate legislative options before us and regulatory options before us that we need to put in place," he said.
The High Court ruled it illegal to indefinitely detain non-citizens who can't be deported, after hearing the case of a detained Rohingya man who was a convicted child sex abuser but with no prospect of repatriation to Myanmar. No other country would resettle him due to his conviction.
There are at least 92 detainees in a similar situation, and another 340 people in long-term detention.
Another of those released was former Malaysian hitman Sirul Azhar Umar, who shot to death a pregnant woman in a jungle outside Kuala Lumpur and then blew up her body with explosives. He escaped to Australia which will not deport him because he faces the death penalty at home. He had been in immigration detention for nine years.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the government was failing to be candid with people.
"We don't know who they are, we don't know where they are, we don't know what crimes they have committed," he said of those so far released. "We do know some of them have committed serious, violent and sexual crimes and others have violated the character provisions of the Migration Act, so much so that many other countries in the world are unwilling to take them.
"And now they're now being released onto the streets.
"The episode is reminiscent of the 2011 High Court decision that torpedoed plans by the Gillard government to immediately deport arrivals back to Malaysia in a bid to stem an overwhelming number of boat arrivals.
However, on that occasion, both the Coalition and the Greens refused to back legislation to circumvent the decision, resulting in a sharp increase in people smuggling and hundreds more deaths.
