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Recently released detained migrants will soon be subject to measures similar to those of high-risk terrorists after parliament passed preventive detention laws.
The House of Representatives voted 68 to 59 Wednesday night in favor of the laws, which will address released detainees who present an unacceptable risk of committing a serious violent or sexual crime.
The laws were implemented after the High Court ruled that indefinite immigration detention was invalid, resulting in the release of nearly 150 detainees.
Under the laws, released detainees who a court deems pose an unacceptable risk would be put back behind bars.
The maximum duration of the detention order is three years, but it would be reviewed annually.
Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, Australian Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles speak during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Wednesday, December 6, 2023.
A fourth asylum seeker has been arrested following a controversial High Court ruling, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) faces a full-blown crisis over his handling of the issue.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the detention measures were necessary.
“This is the reality of the High Court decision,” he told Parliament.
‘The government did not choose to be in this position.
‘The situation was imposed on this parliament by the High Court.
‘The preventive detention regime would allow the court to detain the worst of the worst criminals.
“To be clear, I would not count all detainees released since the Superior Court decision.”
A fourth recently released man was arrested on Wednesday after a 45-year-old man allegedly breached his visa curfew conditions and stole luggage from Melbourne Airport.
Of the almost 150 detainees, four would have reoffended.
Two of them are registered sex offenders.
Emran Dad, 33, appeared in court on Tuesday accused of failing to report to police after he allegedly contacted a boy and failed to disclose his social media accounts.
Afghan asylum seeker Emran Dad, 33, is one of four detained since he was released by a High Court ruling.
The chiefs of the Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police briefed the prime minister and premiers on Wednesday about Operation Aegis, the joint operation to ensure community safety following the High Court decision.
Giles has also been in contact with state and territory ministers to ensure the necessary preparations were being made to keep the community safe.
The court requests had been drafted in anticipation of the laws being passed.
Layers of protection are being put in place to ensure the safety of Australians, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said.
The new laws could withstand a High Court challenge after previous ones were struck down, he said.
“The safety of the Australian community is paramount to us,” he said.
Neither minister confirmed how many people would be covered by the new laws or how many applications were in process.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Parliament the reason the timing and number of the arrest warrants were not released was the risk that cases could be prejudiced.
The crimes of those arrested were also kept secret despite Giles having previously told parliament there were three murderers and several sex offenders among the cohort.
The opposition has chided the government for not having legislation ready to implement as soon as the court’s decision was handed down so that the criminals would not be released.
Aliyawar Yawari, 65, is a convicted sex offender who a judge called a “danger to the Australian community” after attacking three women and kicking in a mother’s door.
The Superior Court ruling on November 8 found that indefinite detention was unlawful and allowed 148 dangerous non-citizens to be released from detention (pictured: a detainee released last week).
“They said we didn’t need a preventive detention regime or we couldn’t have a preventive detention regime,” said Liberal Party deputy leader Sussan Ley.
“The next thing the Home Secretary said was that Parliament will not leave until we have that regime.
‘How could that inspire confidence in people about the safety of the community?’
But Attorney General Mark Dreyfus sharply criticized the coalition for failing to understand how High Court rulings work.
The government cannot legislate other than the Constitution, Dreyfus stated.
Any delay could expose the Commonwealth and individual public servants to legal action and damages, he said.
“The High Court’s decision sets a new limit on the power to detain anyone in the same position as the plaintiff in that case and had to be implemented immediately,” he said.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the debate over the laws was a race to the bottom, as while “some of them have committed heinous crimes, many of them have not”.
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