Humbled ALP backs in Peter Dutton’s principles on detainees
Labor has capitulated to Peter Dutton’s demands for urgent and far-reaching controls over criminals released from immigration detention.
Labor has capitulated to Peter Dutton’s demands for urgent and far-reaching controls over criminals released from immigration detention following a High Court ruling, acknowledging serious community fears over those set free.
With the Prime Minister overseas and the government facing one of its biggest political challenges yet, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles agreed to all of the Coalition’s demands for tougher restrictions over the released detainees to ensure the swift passage of the emergency measures.
While rejecting Coalition demands for “preventative detention”, Labor agreed to make curfews and electronic monitoring of the released detainees mandatory, dropping its plan to make the measures subject to ministerial discretion.
The move came as the number of non-citizens released following last week’s High Court decision – who include convicted murderers, rapists and pedophiles – rose to 84.
A further eight detainees subject to adverse character assessments are also due to be released on bridging visas. The opposition warned of a “pipeline” of another 340 who could also be set free, but the government said the claimed number referred to all those detained for more than a year.
Labor also agreed to Coalition amendments to bar the released criminals from working with children, going within 150m of a school or childcare facility, or contacting their victims or their family members.
In another key Coalition amendment agreed by Labor, any of the released individuals who breach the new measures will face mandatory minimum sentences.
Mr Marles said his agreement with Mr Dutton, made while Anthony Albanese was at the APEC summit in San Francisco, was necessary to ensure the swift passage of the measures.
“It is fair to say that since the moment of the High Court’s decision, there has been a significant degree … of anxiety within the community about the release of these individuals into the community, given the nature of offences that many of these individuals had committed at points in time in their life,” he said.
“The basis on which we are doing this is because we are in a position where this must be resolved immediately. And so this has been done on the basis that it passes this parliament today, passes the Senate this afternoon, and passes this House later this evening.”
It’s understood Mr Albanese was advised on the negotiations as they occurred. The legislation was due to pass both houses on Thursday night before being rushed to the Governor-General for royal assent. The emergency measures, which were drafted overnight, followed the High Court’s decision last Wednesday to overturn a 20-year precedent allowing the commonwealth to detain non-citizens indefinitely under certain circumstances.
They followed Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ claim earlier in the week that the released detainees were subject to “appropriate visa conditions”.
But, introducing the government’s emergency legislation into the parliament, Mr Giles warned “further responses may be required once we have received the High Court’s reasons for their decision”, which might not occur until next year.
Mr Dutton attacked the government for failing to draft a legislative fix months ago, highlighting a High Court warning in June that “the government was on shaky ground”. “And yet today we have urgent legislation that’s been drafted overnight before the parliament to try and provide some response, which is totally and utterly inadequate,” the Opposition Leader said.
He said it was “completely and utterly unconscionable” that Mr Albanese was absent while parliament was dealing with such a grave matter. “We’re not talking about some people who have had some indiscretion under the law,” he said.
“These are people who have committed serious offences and the likelihood of them reoffending is very, very high.”
He pointed to the government’s release of 50-year-old Malaysian hit man Sirul Azhar Umar, who was convicted of the politically charged 2006 murder of 28-year-old Mongolian model and translator Altantuya Shaaribuu.
“One person killed a pregnant woman and then blew up her body with military grade explosives,” Mr Dutton said.
“I think the Australian public is rightly outraged at a government that sees fit to let that person back out into the community.”
Sirul could not be extradited under Australian law unless the Malaysian government agreed to take the death penalty off the table, which previous administrations refused to do.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley also highlighted the release of two brothers who fractured a man’s skull with a baseball bat.
The teal MPs in the House of Representatives all backed the government’s measures, with the Member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel blasting the opposition’s call for those released to be thrown back into detention.
“The High Courts made it clear in this decision that punishment is a matter for the courts, not any minister,” she said. “Therefore, the opposition’s suggestion that these individuals should be re-detained is at best misinformed, and at worst an attempt to manipulate public opinion on something it knows can’t happen.”
The Greens opposed the controls on the released detainees, accusing Labor of caving in to Mr Dutton. Greens Senate whip Nick McKim declared the party would “proudly oppose this bill” and warned the emergency measures would be subject to a future High Court challenge.
“Make no mistake, this is Prime Minister Albanese’s Tampa moment and history will condemn him for this, just as it condemned Mr Howard and Mr Beasley over 20 years ago,” he said. “It is an utter disgrace, an abject craven capitulation by a party that has forgotten where it came from, and forgotten what it used to stand for.”
Senator McKim said the legislation would deliver unprecedented powers to the Immigration Minister which amounted to “double jeopardy and double punishment” for the individuals affected.
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