Giles boasts to refugee advocates on ‘obligations’ to foreign criminals

Andrew Giles boasted to refugee activists that his ill-fated Direction 99 would ‘reflect our obligations’ to foreign-born criminals | WATCH

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

A career criminal and known associate of gangland figure Tony Mokbel has had his deportation halted under Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’s ill-fated Direction 99, more than a week after the disastrous effects of the ministerial order came to light.

Kevin Farrugia was spared deportation to Malta on Monday after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned the automatic cancellation of his visa because of his extensive criminal history, which includes at least 50 offences, because of his significant ties to Australia.

The 51-year-old has spent 12 years in prison since he arrived in Australia as 17-month-old baby, with his most serious charges including kidnapping, trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs, reckless conduct endangering life, assault by kicking and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

The revelations come as video emerged of Mr Giles boasting to refugee activists that his ill-fated Direction 99 would “reflect our obligations” to foreign-born crim­inals who had resided in Australia for most of their lives.

He told the Refugee Council of Australia general meeting in Nov­ember 2022 that he was having discussions with “our friends in New Zealand” over the creation of the policy.

Mr Giles said he was reviewing the AAT’s decision to reissue Furrugia’s visa, which was based on the Ministerial Direction he introduced pushing for greater leniency towards criminals who were long-term Australian residents in ­migration decisions.

He also pledged that an updated direction would be released by the end of the week, amid mounting Coalition calls for him to resign as the political crisis over detainees deepens.

“I am aware of the case that the shadow minister refers to which was decided by the AAT yesterday, and it is under consideration in accordance with the national interest,” Mr Giles said during question time on Tuesday.

AAT senior member Ann O’Connell said in her decision that Farrugia’s deportation would have a “significant adverse impact” on his partner and 15-year-old daughter, noting that there was “unlikely to be significant familial, social, or other support” in Malta.

“On balance, this primary consideration carries substantial weight in favour of revocation, particularly given that the applicant has spent almost all his life in Australia,” the decision said.

“The applicant has a very close relationship with his partner and daughter and with members of his immediate family, who all spoke strongly about the changed behaviour of the applicant since he had ceased drug taking while on bail.”

The decision noted he had played a significant role in his daughter’s life when he was on parole between 2019 and 2023, when he had taken her “to and from school and in assisting her while she dealt with some health problems”. He also said he spoke to his partner, whom he met in 2007, on the phone every day.

The decision also said Farrugia had been abused by a family friend as a young boy in Malta and had told the tribunal he believed the perpetrator still lived there, meaning this “impacted on him not wanting to return”.

Farrugia said he had parents and siblings in Australia. He told the tribunal he had not used drugs since 2019 and had taken part in a program for violent offenders which had helped him deal with “emotions such as anger and feeling under threat”.

A psychologist found Farrugia’s test results were “not indicative of a major mental illness or personality disorder (but) did suggest considerable difficulties with substance misuse”.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said the decision, handed down more than a week after The Australian revealed Direction 99 had been used to reverse the deportations of rapist and pedophiles, demonstrated the risk remained.