Latest NZYQ detainee charged as PM mulls Andrew Giles’ future

Another immigration detainee released under the landmark NZYQ ruling has been charged with a string of violent offences, heaping more pressure on ­the PM to move his embattled Immigration Minister.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Another immigration detainee released under the landmark NZYQ ruling has been charged with a string of violent offences including assault and possessing a weapon, heaping more pressure on ­Anthony Albanese to move his embattled Immigration Minister to another portfolio.

The Prime Minister has faced calls from the Coalition to replace Andrew Giles as part of his reshuffle on Sunday, with Labor MPs also questioning whether the Immigration and Home Affairs portfolios needed to be restructured.

On top of navigating the ongoing fallout of the High Court’s NZYQ ruling as part of his final decision on the ministerial reshuffle – triggered by Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor announcing this week that they would retire, Mr Albanese is also overseeing an internal battle between the NSW Left and Victorian Left over the vacated cabinet spots.

Ahead of nominations closing for newly opened ministerial positions late on Friday afternoon, The Weekend Australian obtained court documents showing Sudanese-born Lul Peter Kir had become the latest in a growing line of immigration detainees to breach curfews and commit other criminal offences since they were released into the community.

West Australian police confirmed they had arrested Mr Kir over several offences committed over almost three weeks, before which the 33-year-old was accused of breaching his curfew conditions nearly a dozen times.

Documents showed that between June 29 and July 16, Mr Kir allegedly committed offences across Perth including common assault, criminal damage and trespass, and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Mr Kir was one of the 149 immigration detainees released after the High Court last year ruled it was illegal to indefinitely detain individuals whose visas had been cancelled but who had no realistic prospect of being deported in the near future.

Other detainees charged with criminal offences include Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan, who ­allegedly violent assaulted and robbed Girrawheen grandmother Ninette Simons after breaching his visa conditions, and Burundi-born Kimbengere Gosoge, who committed an aggravated home burglary in the wealthy western Perth suburb of Nedlands.

Another former detainee, Mohammat Nosrati, is charged with trafficking a controlled drug, while Sudanese-born Abdelmoez Mohamed Elawad has been charged with stealing and threatening a police officer with a knife.

Also appearing in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday was Yanis Simon, who had been charged with seven counts of failing to remain at his notified address and one count of failing to maintain his monitoring device. Those charges were rolled into a single charge on Friday, with Mr Simon entering a guilty plea.

The fallout over the High Court decision has resulted in intense scrutiny on Mr Giles and his future as Immigration Minister, which was exacerbated by the Direction 99 debacle that resulted in dozens of New Zealand criminals convicted of offences including rape and domestic violence being allowed to stay in Australia.

Many Labor MPs said they would not be surprised if Mr Albanese moved Mr Giles to a different role as part of Sunday’s reshuffle, while others suggested the party should consider overhauling the Home Affairs and Immigration portfolios altogether.

Macarthur MP Mike Freelander said both portfolios were “very complicated”.

“I think you could make the case for some shared responsibilities with other ministers,” he said.

While questions remained over the future of the Immigration and Home Affairs ministers, the NSW and Victorian left factions clashed on Friday evening over who would replace Mr O’Connor.

With Northern Territory senator Malarndirri McCarthy seen as a practical certainty as the replacement for Ms Burney – a NSW Left faction MP – friction arose over who would step in for Mr O’Connor, a member of the Victorian Labor Left.

The Weekend Australian understands the Victorian Left is demanding the spot be given to Ged Kearney, the Assistant Health Minister, rather than NSW senator and Assistant Climate Change Minister Jenny McAllister.

Senior Victorian Left figures pointed out that the Victorian Left had 14 members of parliament, which currently includes two in cabinet, two in the outer ministry and two assistant ministers.

By comparison, the NSW Left has just 12 members of parliament and yet three are in cabinet, two are in the outer ministry and two are assistant ministers.