Lawyers hit back at Peter Dutton on AAT visa decisions

The Law Council has attacked Peter Dutton for jeopardising the independence of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Law Council of Australia has attacked Immigration Minister Peter Dutton for jeopardising the independence of the Administrative Appeals Tribun­al, after he questioned its decis­ions and political impartiality.

Law Council president Fiona McLeod said tribunal members reviewed­ government decisions “in accordance with law, not personal preference or ideology”.

“For members to face personal criticism for fulfilling their duties is inappropriate,” she said.

“Justice Duncan Kerr is a highly respected Federal Court judge who has provided excellent service to the commonwealth during his time as AAT president.”

Mr Dutton expressed frustra­tion this week with the trib­unal, which has overturned more than 4300 visa decisions made by him or his dele­gate in the past year. He noted that Justice Kerr, a former Labor MP, was appointed by former­ prime minister Julia Gillard and said his term would not be renewed when it ended this week.

“It’s always interesting to go back and look at the appointmen­t of the particular Labor government of the day,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB on Tuesday. “It’s a frustration we live with.”

Ms McLeod said the comment could undermine the standing and independence of the tribunal.

“Any suggestion by government that Australian jurists­ are not acting with independence is dangerous and erosive to our justice­ system,” she said. “It undermines the public perception of the legitimate role of the judiciary and weakens the rule of law.”

The AAT reviewed more than 11,300 visa decisions in the year to April, rejecting 39 per cent. Mr Dutton said some of the cases were “infuriating”.

The issue boiled over when it emerged that the AAT had blocked attempts to deport six ­Iranian boatpeople who had vol­untarily returned to Iran for holidays before returning to Australia.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott defended Mr Dutton, saying he was “doing his best to keep our country safe”, and questioned how the AAT could justify its decis­ions.

“It seems that the AAT is, more often than not, not supporting him,” Mr Abbott said on 2GB. “On the face of it, it’s hard to see the ­justification for some of these decisions. And let’s hope that over time we have people on these tribunals that reflect the decent instinct of the wider Australian people.”

Justice Kerr said it would be wrong to respond to Mr Dutton’s comments about his personal conduct but defended the trib­unal. “They don’t just make the law up, they apply the law (as) determined by the parliament and supervised by the court,” he told the ABC.