Coalition calls for Andrew Giles to be ‘sacked’ after immigration bungle
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan has called for his Labor counterpart Andrew Giles to be fired after documents reveal failure to act.
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan has called for his Labor counterpart, Andrew Giles, to be fired, accusing him of failing to act on warnings to take “concrete and robust steps” to remove non-citizens and explore avenues for third party settlement.
Mr Tehan said Mr Giles had failed in his duty as Immigration Minister to keep Australians safe following revelations he was handed a ministerial brief shortly after he took office, cautioning of the legal risk if detainees were not removed “as soon as reasonably practicable”.
The Home Affairs submission, dated July 8, 2022, shows the department warned Mr Giles of the “intractable caseload” of detainees who were not eligible for visas because of criminal convictions, and who cannot be removed due to the risk they could face persecution in their home country.
The document – which surfaced as Labor comes under increased pressure within its own party over proposed laws to remove non-citizens – urged Mr Giles to “explore third country options” for detainees, though it noted the challenges in finding another country to resettle non-citizens with past convictions.
Mr Tehan said the document, provided to The Guardian under Freedom of Information laws, proved Mr Giles “should be sacked” because he had failed to take action to safeguard the immigration detention regime, ahead of the landmark High Court finding known as NZYQ, which triggered the release of 152 non-citizens.
“Despite this warning, the Labor government did not approach other countries about taking the detainee NZYQ until after conceding in the High Court the man could not be deported,” Mr Tehan said.
“This admission by the government undermined the commonwealth’s legal position and led to 152 detainees being released into the community, including seven murderers, 37 sex offenders, and 72 violent offenders.”
Mr Giles and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil have defended their actions, saying the government had argued “strongly against the release of individuals from immigration detention, and demonstrate that current settings were constitutional”.
“At no stage has the opposition been able to identify an action they would have taken which would have resulted in a different outcome,” they said.
Mr Tehan’s call comes as Young Labor Left criticised the Albanese government’s emergency removal laws to tackle the immigration crisis for being “gross, miscalculated and cruel”, as the legislation drives a wedge within the ALP.
The Labor group has branded the legislation, which will allow the immigration minister to force non-citizens to leave the country and bar arrivals from entire nations, as “rushed and draconian” in a submission to a Senate inquiry examining the bill, raising concerns it would entrench indefinite detention.
The group also cautioned that the bill – which would introduce a minimum jail sentence of one year and a maximum of five for non-citizens who didn’t follow orders to return home – breached clauses in the ALP’s national platform supporting the protection of refugees and denouncing mandatory sentencing.
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