Turnbull Government set to remove scores of Administrative Appeals Tribunal members

SCORES of Administrative Appeals Tribunal members are facing the axe after they were criticised for saving murderers, rapists and paedophiles from deportation.

SCORES of Administrative Appeals Tribunal members are facing the axe after they were criticised for saving murderers, rapists and paedophiles from deportation.

The positions of up to 100 AAT members are due to expire on June 30 and the Herald Sun understands the Turnbull Government is considering removing a large number of them, including from the migration and refugee division.

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Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton flagged the overhaul last month, when he hit out at the AAT for overturning decisions made by his office to kick foreign criminals out of Australia.

“The AAT obviously has a number of appointments under the last government that are coming to the end of their term now and we’ll make a number of appointments shortly,” Mr Dutton said.

The tribunal has 322 members, 94 of whom are full time, and the terms of 122 expired last year.

No new appointments have been made this year as the government searches for an eminent judge to replace Justice Duncan Kerr as AAT president after his term expired last month.

It is understood the government is yet to make final decisions on the fate of AAT members whose terms expire this year.

But there is speculation that Miriam Holmes — who saved sex creep taxi driver Jagdeep Singh from deportation and had another decision removed from a public website — is one of the members who will not be reappointed.

Jagdeep Singh is arrested at his house in Lalor. Picture: Rob Leeson.

A spokesman for Senator Brandis said the terms of a “large number of current members” expired at the end of this month.

“Appointments to the AAT are for a fixed term, usually five or seven years,” the spokesman said.

“The government will be announcing appointments to these vacancies in the ordinary course.”

Senator Brandis told a Senate estimates hearing last week that any new appointments had to be made with the approval of Cabinet.

He said the majority of last year’s appointments were members who were reappointed on the recommendation of Justice Kerr.

“In any given year, 100 or so people’s terms expire,” Senator Brandis told the hearing.

It came after Mr Dutton said it was of “great concern” that the AAT had allowed people to stay in Australia who had broken the law.

“It becomes a very frustrating process for me, for all of us, but most of all for the victims of these crimes and for the future victims of these crimes,” he said.

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