State breakdown of released detainees revealed as Peter Dutton tells Coalition to prepare for 2024 election
As the Coalition lashes Labor’s ‘weak’ handling of the release of immigration detainees after a High Court ruling, it’s revealed the bulk of the 149 are living across two states.
National
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has told his colleagues to prepare for a 2024 federal election, as the Coalition lashes Labor’s handling of the release of immigration detainees.
Mr Dutton accused Anthony Albanese of being a “weak Prime Minister” leading a “weak government at a Coalition party room meeting on Tuesday, urging MPs and Senators to get ready to go to the poll this year.
“Get campaign ready and get your message out,” Mr Dutton said.
Mr Dutton told his party room the Coalition would also continue to expose Labor’s “agenda for redistribution” through increased taxes, changes to capital gains, negative gearing and industrial relations.
Labor has not applied to have any of the murderers, sex offenders or violent criminals released from immigration detention last year returned to prison, months after passing emergency laws to do so.
WHERE THE RELEASED DETAINEES ARE
Of the 149 people released following a High Court ruling in the NZYQ case in November, at least 18 former detainees have been charged with fresh crimes by state and territory police, while seven have allegedly committed Commonwealth offences, including breaching curfew and electronic monitoring requirements.
The cohort, who are not Australian citizens but cannot be deported largely due to their refugee status, includes seven murderers, 37 sex offenders, 72 violent criminals, 16 domestic violence perpetrators and 13 serious drug offenders.
The Department of Home Affairs on Monday publicly confirmed for the first time where the released detainees are currently living, with 60 in NSW, 40 in Victoria, 20 in Queensland, 20 in Western Australia, fewer than 10 in South Australia and fewer than five in the ACT.
Officials also confirmed there have been no applications made to have any of the most serious offenders returned to prison under new preventative detention measures rushed through parliament in December.
As of last month there were 113 former detainees required to wear electronic ankle monitors, while in 36 cases the trackers were deemed unnecessary.
‘NOT ACROSS HIS BRIEF”
In the wake of revelations Labor was yet to submit a single application to have any of the serious offenders among the cohort of 149 individuals released from immigration detention following a High Court ruling in November, Mr Dutton called Immigration Minister Andrew Giles “incompetent” and suggested he was “not across his brief”.
Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Australians were being harmed because the Albanese Government had not applied for a preventative detention order under the laws rushed through just before Christmas.
“It’s been two months now and not a single application has been made,” he said.
“It’s simply not good enough.
He said Labor had been “slow and weak” in its response to the High Court decision, arguing the only way to know if preventative detention orders would be successful was if the government “gets off its backside and makes an application to the court”.
Mr Giles hit back at the Coalition, accusing Mr Paterson of being misleading about the threshold a preventative detention order request had to meet.
“We are working around the clock to ensure that applications are made as soon as possible, and critically, that applications are successful, not half bakes,” he said.
Mr Giles said the government’s number one priority remained community safety.
“We’ ve also put in place four layers of protection: preventative detention, community safety orders, electronic monitoring and curfews, as well as strict visa conditions.”
The High Court ordered the release of a Rohingya man previously convicted of child offences, known only as NZYQ, in November after ruling his indefinite detention was unlawful.
In the weeks following this decision a further 148 people who are not Australian citizens, but who cannot be deported largely due to their refugee status, were released into the community.
Mr Paterson also criticised Labor’s lack of transparency on the rate of reoffending among the cohort.
“These updates … shouldn’t have to be dragged out by the skin of our teeth from the officials form the Department of Home Affairs,” he said.
Anthony Albanese defended the lack of applications to redetain any of the individuals released, claiming the government wanted to avoid unsuccessful attempts.
“There’s a very high legal threshold to be met for a court to agree to the ongoing detention of an offender,” the Prime Minister told 2GB.
“What we want to make sure is that this is right, there’s no point putting in an application that is not successful.
“We are taking advice and we will take action for everyone who the advice suggests can be successfully detained.”
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was grilled about the detainees in Question Time, but repeatedly declined to reveal if any of the people who had reoffended were not wearing ankle bracelets at the time.
Citing “operational” reasons, Mr Giles said the questions were a matter for law enforcement.
Australian Border Force officials fronting Senate Estimates on Monday took a number of questions on notice as they were also unable to immediately answer how many detainees previously convicted of serious offences were not fitted with an ankle monitor.
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Originally published as State breakdown of released detainees revealed as Peter Dutton tells Coalition to prepare for 2024 election
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