Labor’s sneaky law ‘reform’ will wind up weakening our borders

A move to turn a ‘court of bureaucracy’ responsible for upholding visa cancellations into a new ALP creation will lead to more overseas crims staying in Australia, writes JAMES MORROW.

As the time of writing, three of the 141 immigration detainees released in the wake of a now notorious High Court decision have been picked up by authorities on charges ranging from cannabis possession to indecent assault.

And, given the sorts of crimes many of those put back on the streets (albeit with ankle bracelets and “strict conditions”) have been found guilty of in the past, it’s an almost certain bet that number is going to grow.

But while attention has rightly focused on Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ mismanagement of the crisis, behind the scenes Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has been working on a legal “reform” that could see even more criminal migrants allowed to remain and roam in the community.

It all has to do with something called the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, or AAT.

Roughly speaking, the AAT serves as a sort of court of bureaucracy.

People can go to it to appeal all sorts of decisions about everything from Centrelink payments and child support obligations to veterans’ entitlements and workers’ compensation.

Attorney-General and Cabinet Secretary Mark Dreyfus Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The AAT was also one of the stops the Michael Caton character Darryl Kerrigan made in his quest to save Bonnie Doon from being gobbled up by the next door airport in The Castle, though that case had a happier outcome at the High Court.

Crucially, the AAT also has the power uphold or deny immigration officers’ decision to cancel the visas of migrants on character grounds when they have a substantial criminal record, is a danger to the community, or is otherwise not of good character.

The vibe of the thing: Darryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) briefs lawyer Dennis Denuto (Tirel Mora) in the movie The Castle. Picture: Supplied

Many of those who come before the AAT seeking to stay are hardened criminals with long rap sheets, rapists, and pedophiles.

But for a variety of reasons, Dreyfus wants to get rid of the AAT and replace it with his own creation, the ART, or Administrative Review Tribunal, saying that the country needs a new administrative law system to deliver better outcomes.

And there is a very high chance that the legislation to make the change will be slipped through on Thursday, during a special sitting of parliament where everyone will be focused on immigration detention and getting ready to head home for Christmas.

Dreyfus flagged this last Friday at the Law Council of Australia’s annual dinner, saying he was going to move on the AAT “by the end of the year.”

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) office which is housed in this building at 15 William Street Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie

He also told members of the Law Council – a woke lawyer’s lobby that campaigned hard for the Voice – to consider putting in their CVs for the new ART.

Dreyfus says that appointments to the new ART will be “transparent and merit based,” but many in the legal community worry that it will lead to a body with a progressive tilt more likely to let people who should be kicked out remain in Australia.

There is good reason for these concerns.

An analysis of AAT decisions made by the UNSW’s Kaldor Centre found that migrants who had their cases heard by Labor appointees from 2015-2020 were 44 per cent more likely to win their cases than those heard by those appointed when the Coalition was in power.

In 2020-2022, the number of decisions handed down by Labor appointees in favour of those seeking to stay dropped substantially, but the theory is that at reappointment time the Coalition, which was still in power, chose not to reappoint softer touches.

Former Labor Senator Chris Ketter has been appointed by Labor to a plum overseas post.

There is also every reason to be suspicious that even with the best of intentions at the start, the new body will also wind up a home for Labor mates.

After all, there is plenty of precedent.

This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself declined to say what he knew about the appointment of former Labor senator Chris Ketter to the joint roles of senior trade commissioner and consul-general in San Francisco.

Ketter was the personal pick of Trade Minister Don Farrell, despite a competitive recruitment process finding former Austrade executive Kirstyn Thomson the “preferred pick” for the job.

The end result of all of this will be a new tribunal, stacked with Labor sympathising left wing lawyers, that is far more generous when it comes to hearing the cases of people seeking to appeal having their visas cancelled so that they can stay in the country.

Of course, none of this was necessary.

Those familiar with its workings say that the AAT’s biggest problems are a case backlog caused by underfunding, and increasing numbers of people falsely claiming to be refugees after landing in Australia, often as a way to avoid going home after their work or study visas expire.

And while no government body is perfect, the AAT’s own figures show that it is mostly hitting its marks.

In 2022-23, the tribunal beat its targets for clearing and finalising cases and publishing decisions, though it fell well short (61 per cent) of its target of finalising 75 per cent of all cases within one year of lodgement.

As a measure of the fact that the tribunal mostly gets it right, just 2.1 per cent of decisions taken to appeal were overturned by other courts.

Pulling it down and creating a new Labor-driven tribunal is a recipe for trouble.