Hopeless and hapless Andrew Giles cruels ALP rally

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in question time. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has returned to form in 2024 in such a catastrophically hapless and hopeless manner in parliament that he has almost single-handedly dulled the impact of Anthony Albanese’s $10bn a year tax cut giveaway.

Last year, under immense pressure over the way he and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil had handled the release of 149 criminals from immigration detention after an order from the High Court, he was unable to answer question after question in parliament and faced calls to resign.

Over the Christmas break, Giles had time to get across the detail of his political disaster, including an undertaking he made in parliament in November that all victims of the 149 offenders would be contacted to allay their fears.

Three months ago in response to opposition questions, Giles was giving an undertaking in parliament that all victims would be contacted and he had all summer to check to see if his parliamentary promise had been fulfilled.

Inexplicably, he was unable to answer a question from Peter Dutton, admittedly at the end of a long and trying week of questions, as to whether the family members of a woman murdered by one of the released detainees had been contacted and offered reassurance of their security. Dodging any answers, he even suggested that victims could “make contact” with state, territory or federal government officials or even ring the 1800RESPECT number for reassurance.

Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, Giles then asks the Opposition Leader for the family’s telephone number so he could call them!

Dutton, who had managed to become politically dominant at the end of last year because of this issue, was then in the position of knowing more about his portfolio than the minister, his office or the department.

Labor MPs as a whole were dumbfounded, and all the tax-cut mojo was lost as Giles once again sat down and grabbed his phone seeking more information.

Yet, wait for it, after question time the minister’s position became even more pathetic: Victorian state officials HAD contacted the victim’s family, alerted them to the murderer’s release on November 24 and the family then contacted O’Neil’s Home Affairs Department seeking information of the murderer’s whereabouts.

Home Affairs responded with a standard letter that they could not disclose the whereabouts or status of the murderer to protect his “privacy”.

The family was appalled and is still fearful and uncertain.

Giles, too, looks frightened and uncertain as his complete negligence in getting basic facts months after making ministerial undertakings fuel reasonable calls for his sacking or resignation.