Immigration visa bungler Andrew Giles strikes again

Labor faces a new round of claims it subjected Australians to unnecessary safety risks and then misled the public about it after documents revealed more than 80 dangerous non-citizens were released into the community without visas.

Andrew Giles in question time on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor faces a new round of claims it subjected Australians to unnecessary safety risks and then misled the public about it after documents revealed more than 80 dangerous non-citizens were released into the community without visas.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws ­reveal the then immigration ­minister Andrew Giles received eight submissions from the Department of Home Affairs between ­November 10 and 16.

The submissions reveal that at least 83 dangerous individuals were granted their freedom and were residing as unlawful non-­citizens in the community ­before they received their bridging visas.

This is nearly half the total ­cohort of 178 people whom the ­Community Protection Board said had been released from ­immigration detention by the end of June as a result of the High Court’s NZYQ decision on November 8.

In each of the department’s submissions, Mr Giles was informed of an individual or a group “currently residing in the community as unlawful non-citizens” after being “released from ­immigration detention following the High Court judgment in NZYQ”.

Mr Giles was asked by the ­department between November 10 and 16 to grant at least 83 ­unlawful non-citizens residing in the community a Bridging R (Class WR) (Removal Pending) (subclass 070) visa (BVR) under regulation 2.25AA of the ­Migration Regulations of 1994.

The then minister was informed that, if he ­decided “not to grant a BVR to the individuals ­listed … they will ­remain in the community as ­unlawful non-­citizens and unless their ­circumstances change, they cannot be detained”.

However, when asked in parliament by Peter Dutton on November 15 whether any of the “hardcore criminals released into the community following the High Court’s decision … were ­released into the community without a visa”, Mr Giles said all of those released were on bridging visas.

“I can confirm that all of those individuals required to be released as a result of the decision of the High Court are on bridging visas with appropriate conditions,” he told parliament.

The next day, November 16, Mr Giles received another submission informing him that “the individuals being referred in this submission are currently ­residing in the community as ­unlawful non-citizens as they were released from immigration detention following the High Court judgment in NZYQ”.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan, whose office obtained the documents under FoI laws, said the submissions “bell the cat that the government was completely unprepared for the NZYQ High Court decision and that they put Australian community safety at risk as a result”.

“The government was not transparent about what took place and the facts are that unlawful non citizens were roaming in communities across this nation without any safeguards attached to their visa conditions,” Mr Tehan said. “In fact, they didn’t have visas at all. It seems they were quite prepared to lie to the Australian people to hide their gross incompetence.”

Mr Tehan also argued it was “crystal clear that Andrew Giles has misled the parliament” and called on Anthony Albanese to dismiss him from the frontbench.

“The question now is one for the Prime Minister: given this, should Andrew Giles remain a minister in his government?” Mr Tehan said.

Mr Giles was shifted out of the immigration portfolio in a ministerial reshuffle late last month ­following months of unrelenting pressure over his handling of the NZYQ High Court case.

He was replaced with Tony Burke – who also took over the Home Affairs portfolio – but Mr Giles retained a seat on the frontbench and was appointed Minister for Skills and Training.

Responding to detailed questions from The Australian, Mr Burke said: “The government’s position is we don’t want these people in the community at all, and we’ll put restrictions on them to the maximum extent allowed by the law.”

But he did not explain why the practice was to grant bridging visas to some detainees only after they had already been released into the community or if Australians were exposed to unnecessary risk as a result.

Mr Burke took aim at the Opposition Leader’s own record on community safety in government as the home ­affairs minister, arguing that he “oversaw the release of 102 ­convicted sex offenders, including 64 child sex offenders, ­without any decision from the High Court.”

“I don’t know whether that was because he wanted them in the community or because he was negligent,” Mr Burke said. “But either way, it’s hypocrisy.”

The departmental submissions to Mr Giles were received on the following dates: one on November 10 last year relating to 17 non-citizens; two on November 11, relating to eight and 30 non-citizens respectively; one on ­November 12 relating to 24 non-citizens; one on November 13 ­relating to one non-citizen; one on November 14 relating to two non-citizens; one on November 15 relating to one non-citizen and one on November 16.

It was unclear how many non-citizens the final submission related to – only that it related to more than one person.

In total, the submissions ­revealed that at least 83 non-­citizens were released into the community following the High Court NZYQ decision before later being given bridging visas.

In the November 16 submission, the department also warned that any decision to refuse a BVR would not be in keeping with Australia’s international ­obligations.

“They will not have work rights or access to Medicare or ­social welfare payments through Services Australia,” the submission said.

“Australia’s international obligations require that all persons in Australia have an adequate standard of living. “

Mr Giles was not the only minister who suggested in parliament that dangerous non-citizens were only released into community on bridging visas.

Speaking on November 16, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles declared that “the government, in releasing those ­individuals, put them on bridging visas, where there were strict ­conditions.”