Parliament Thursday live: Coalition hounds Immigration Minister Andrew Giles over former detainee charged with sex offences
The embattled Immigration Minister was peppered with questions after a detainee was arrested before police then dropped the charges.
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Victoria Police have announced they will withdraw charges against a former detainee released into the community in the wake of a High Court decision just hours after it dominated question time.
Earlier on Thursday, it was revealed the 43-year-old Richmond man was charged on Wednesday for allegedly stalking one woman and allegedly assaulting another.
He was part of the group of 149 former detainees, many of whom had criminal histories, who were released after the NZYQ decision.
The Coalition used question time on Thursday to hound Andrew Giles for details.
Mr Giles said the location of “every individual” in the cohort was known, but would not comment on any ongoing case as he did not want to prejudice any court proceedings.
“I have complete faith in our law enforcement officials’ ability to keep us safe,” Mr Giles said.
“They are working around the clock to do just that.
“We have worked to give them the tools they need to enforce the strict laws passed in the parliament last year, including an additional quarter of a billion dollars to support our law enforcement efforts.”
Mr Giles has faced weeks of pressure from the opposition following the release of the detainees.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Thursday asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in question time if the “Immigration Minister enjoy your full confidence?”
Mr Albanese replied with one word: “Yes”
But just before 5pm, Victoria Police released a statement saying the charges would be withdrawn.
“Police have since notified the Richmond man’s legal representation and the process has commenced to formally withdraw the charges,” a spokeswoman said.“Detectives today returned to an address in Richmond and identified a man on CCTV who they now believe is the person who was involved.”
Gallagher stops short of apology to alleged victims
Meanwhile in the Senate, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has repeatedly stopped short of apologising to the alleged victims involved.
“Of course the government is committed to ensuring that everything is done to support victims and their families and an enormous amount of work has gone into that,” she said.
“We are committed to doing everything we can and I know the minister personally is to support victims and their families who have been involved with this cohort.”
During the back-and-forth with the Coalition’s home affairs spokesman James Paterson, Senator Gallagher accused the opposition of “stirring up” and “politicise” the issue.
“That’s your natural inclination is to go straight to it, when you know exactly how hard those agencies are working,” she said.
“You know the challenges they face and you are seeking to undermine it here today.”
Senators spar during question time
Earlier, tensions also boiled over in the Senate about the government’s response to the detainees released under the NZYQ ruling.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher declined to comment on the individual case but said the government would “continue to do everything in our power to keep the community safe”.
But as accusations and interjections flew thick and fast across the chamber, it got hard for President Sue Lines to keep track of who was responsible for what insults.
At one point, she ordered NSW Liberal Senator Holly Hughes to withdraw a comment – which she claimed she did not make.
“Honestly I wasn’t calling out but I withdraw, I don’t know what it was,” she said.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie put her hand up to suggest it was her, but Senator Lines wasn’t moving.
Shortly into the Finance Minister’s next answer, the President again ordered Senator Gallagher to sit down.
“Senator Hughes graciously just got up and withdrew. I am not sure if it was Senator Hughes who made the imputation but there was one made,” she said.
“The reason I didn’t hear it was because this chamber is too noisy. Yelling out is inappropriate from either side.”
But it wasn’t too long before the Senate President had to order another senator to withdraw.
This time the shoe was on the other foot.
Senator Gallagher was answering a question from the Greens about reports the Great Barrier Reef was on the brink of another coral bleaching event when she got drawn into a back and forth with Gerard Rennick.
Senator Rennick, a known climate sceptic from Queensland, interjected and demanded to know if the Finance Minister had even been to the tourist hotspot.
“Yes, I have been up there, Senator Rennick, you fool,” she said.
It took a little longer than usual for one of Senator Rennick’s Liberal colleagues, Jane Hume, to get to her feet to raise an objection to the comment.
“I think the minister might have referred to Senator Rennick with a rather offensive comment,” she said.
Labor senators laughed as they joked about how long it took those opposite to cotton on to the Finance Minister’s comment.
Senator Rennick didn’t seem to be too upset by the remark, shouting out he didn’t need Senator Gallagher to withdraw – she just had to debate him.
“I withdraw and I would be very happy to debate Senator Rennick,” she said, as the Liberal continued to interject.
“Do you want to dive in the reef with me,” he yelled out, “Come up and dive with me.”
Wild stunt sparks mid-speech chaos
A Greens senator has been kicked out of the House of Representatives after she interrupted a historic speech from the Philippines president to protest against “human rights abuses”.
Shortly after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr began addressing both houses of federal parliament on Thursday morning, Greens senator Janet Rice held up a sign that read “stop the human rights abuses”.
It caused a ripple among MPs and senators gathered in the chamber, with one heard labelling the stunt as a “disgrace”.
She was kicked out of the chamber, accompanied by Barbara Pocock, as Mr Marcos Jr continued to speak.
In a statement, Senator Rice wrote that she was “appalled” that the Philippines president had been invited to address Australian leaders.
“Under President Marcos Jr, the already-rife corruption in the Philippines is getting worse, and the justice system exists in name only,” she said.
“It is a grave mistake for the Australian government to give legitimacy to President Marcos Jr inviting him to address the parliament today.”
‘Critical’ defence plan
The federal government’s highly-awaited defence industry strategy will increase investment towards Australia defence industry grants program to $183.8m.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the boost will help to support more than 100,000 Australian jobs in the defence industry.
It follows a damning industry review, released last year, that warned Australia’s $43bn defence sector was severely struggling to recruit and retain staff.
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie welcomed the release of the strategy but called on the government to release the full details of the 10-year grants program.
Inflation still a ‘concern’: Treasurer
Australia’s economy is headed towards a “weak” recovery over the coming months, according to the Treasurer; however, it is unlikely that the country will enter a recession.
Despite promising new CPI figures showing a steadying in consumer prices, Jim Chalmers warned that Aussie households would not be immune from persistent global economic instability, pointing to recent recessions in Japan and the UK.
“We don’t yet know what those December Quarter national accounts will say about GDP growth towards the end of last year but we do know enough that markets expect growth in our economy to have been quite weak,” he told the ABC.
“And as we deal with this inflation challenge, we also need to deal with the fact that people have been under pressure and that’s had consequences for growth in our economy.”
Consumer prices rose 3.4 per cent in January from a year earlier, unchanged from their reading in December, the Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday, lower than expectations of a 3.6 per cent increase.
He said while inflation remained a “major concern” he was positive Australia would start to see economic improvements, but cautioned that they would be slow.
More Aussie troops deployed to Red Sea
Australia will ramp up its military presence in the Red Sea in of support of US and UK strikes against Iran-backed Houthi fighters, as attacks continue to threaten vessels sailing through the major shipping corridor.
Under the newly formed Operation Hydrant, six additional defence force personnel will be deployed to US headquarters to assist allied forces target Iran-backed Houthi militants, who have led more than 45 attacks against commercial and naval ships since mid-November.
The attacks are in solidarity with Hamas in its war against Israel.
British and US forces have been carrying out regular strikes to take out Houthi targets across Yemen in retaliation, which has been supported by a wider coalition including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the deployment was small but “significant”
“These headquarters aren’t huge places. And it’s certainly a contribution which is very much welcomed by both the US and the UK. But it’s very important that we are a part of this mission because our national interest is completely tied up as an island trading nation with freedom of navigation,” he said.
Speaking later on Sky later, Liberal senator James Paterson welcomed an increase in troops in the region said Australia should be sending ‘actual assets’.
“Our interests here are clear. Shipping costs from Europe to our region have skyrocketed, and all of those costs are passed on to Australian consumers,” he said.
“We want this to get under control as quickly as possible. We want this these Houthi attacks on the Red Sea and shipping to be put down as quickly as possible. And the longer that we delay in providing assistance to our allies and friends, the longer that will take.”
Hockey demands ‘traitor’ be named
Former treasurer Joe Hockey has urged ASIO boss Mike Burgess to reveal which former politician allegedly sold out Australia to foreign spies.
The head of Australia’s national security agency has refused to name the unidentified former Australian politician who he claimed “sold out the country” after being successfully recruited by a foreign intelligence service “several years ago”.
Speaking after bombshell allegations surfaced on Wednesday, Mr Hockey said the claims have implicated hundreds former and current elected officials and called on the security boss to immediately reveal the identity of the individual.
“Mr Burgess has to now name that politician otherwise everyone who has ever served in politics is imputed – it’s as simple as that,” he told 2GB.
“You can’t make an allegation or a statement about someone being a traitor and then expect that no one will ask questions.”
Mr Marles warned against speculation and said publicly revealing the name of the alleged traitor would not be beneficial.
“I am not aware of the specific facts which underpin the scenario that Mike Burgess has outlined,” he said on Thursday.
“I respect the reasons why that is important to be kept confidential. but I think it is also really important that this story be put out in the public domain, which is what Mike Burgess has done, because, you know, those of us engaged in public life but certainly us need to be really vigilant.”
Chilling dating app warning
Millions of Australian dating app users have been warned over an alarming rise in online predators using sites like Tinder and Hinge to facilitate the spread of child exploitation material. New research from the Australian Institute of Criminology, which analysed survey data from nearly 10,000 dating app users across the country, has found one in eight have reported to have received a request to facilitate child sexual exploitation or abuse.
Experts found people most at risk of online coercion from a predator are young people, First Nations people, people whose first language was not English, and people with a disability or long-term illness.
Australia will introduce a new industry code for online dating apps in June, which aims to lift safety standards for users.
Originally published as Parliament Thursday live: Coalition hounds Immigration Minister Andrew Giles over former detainee charged with sex offences
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