Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was brutally questioned live on radio about the latest prisoner crisis and asked point-blank why he hasn’t been sacked yet.
ABC Radio host Sabra Lane popped the question on Thursday as pressure mounts for Giles to be dumped over the fiasco.
“Andrew Giles, a lot of Australians this morning would be thinking, ‘Why do you still have a job?'” she said.
“You’ve been working for two years and a lot of people would be completely confused by what’s happened in the last few weeks.”
Mr Giles has come under heavy fire following a series of immigration disasters.
About 153 detainees, including murderers and sex offenders, have been released from immigration after the High Court ruled last year that it was unlawful to detain someone indefinitely if there was no real prospect of removing him or her from Australia.
Mr Giles came under fire again after it emerged that the visas of several criminal migrants could no longer be revoked after a tribunal acted under Direction 99 – an edict Mr Giles filed in January last year.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was the latest to join the attack on Giles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, labeling them “a bunch of bozos”.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was brutally questioned live on radio about the latest prisoner crisis and asked point-blank why he hasn’t been sacked yet
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was the latest to join the pile-on against Giles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, labeling them a ‘couple of bozos’
Mr Giles told ABC’s AM that he had canceled seven visas in recent days.
When asked why he still had a job, he replied: “There is so much work to do to clean up the mess, to rebuild the migration system that was in tatters.”
‘A system that was fundamentally broken under Mr Dutton [as] minister,” he said.
“Last night I canceled another visa, which was revoked by the agency under the previous leadership.
“We believe these decisions should be guided by clear principles for the protection of the Australian community.”
Lane rejected Gile’s attempt to pin the blame on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, claiming he had been in the position for enough years to make changes.
A new ministerial directive aimed at “ensuring the protection of the community takes precedence over other considerations” will be released for public scrutiny once it is ready, Giles said.
“We believe these decisions should be guided by two clear principles: the protection of the Australian community and by common sense,” he said.
‘We want to consider the role of victims and the impact on them and their relatives, because that is something that we feel is lacking, and of course ensure that the consideration of domestic abuse is consistent with government expectations and the wider Australian community.”
Ms Hanson described Mr Albanese as the “most pathetic, cowardly Prime Minister I have ever known” and said she “cringed” at his leadership.
‘He’s a cowardly wonder. He shows no compassion for what is happening in this country. It was sad to listen to him,” Ms Hanson said.
“I am so angry with him in the leadership role of this nation that I cringe when I see him. I cringe when I hear their policies.”
Seven of the former detainees have previously been convicted of murder or attempted murder and at least two of them and 26 sex offenders are not required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet or adhere to a curfew.
“They have no respect for the Australian people and their safety,” Ms Hanson said.
About 153 detainees, including murderers and sex offenders, have been released from immigration after the Supreme Court ruled last year that it was unlawful to detain someone indefinitely if there was no realistic prospect of removing him or her from Australia (photo, Villawood Detention Centre)
‘They have no regard for the security of this country, because they send a clear message to the people smugglers. We’re in a big mess.’
Ms Hanson called on the Prime Minister to sack Mr Giles from the federal cabinet.
‘He has to go. Everyone keeps shouting for it, but the Albanian protects him, so it’s his buddy. He protects him because they think the same,” she said.
“And that tells me they’re both thinking the same thing. The Albanians will not lose Giles, because Giles thinks exactly the same as the Albanians.’
Speaking on the immigration crisis this week, Australian Border Police Commissioner Michael Outram told Parliament there is a “big difference between some murders and other murders”.
Home Secretary James Paterson was shocked by Mr Outram’s statement, saying ‘a murder is a murder’.
On Wednesday, Albanese announced the government would review a regulation called Directive 99, which makes “ties to Australia”, such as family ties, a primary consideration in determining visas.
Ms Hanson called on the Prime Minister to sack Andrew Giles (pictured) from the federal cabinet
Daily Mail Australia revealed a Sudanese criminal with a long criminal record claimed he identified as Aboriginal and could play the didgeridoo in a successful bid to stay in Australia.
“We’ve seen that we’re not seeing the common sense approach that Australians should expect, nor are we seeing the focus on community safety,” Giles said on Wednesday.
‘But as the Prime Minister also made clear in Question Time, there were many issues that were clearly linked to the application of the previous guidelines issued under ministers in the former government, including of course Peter Dutton when he was Foreign Secretary. .
“The new, revised direction will make it abundantly clear that community safety is a consideration that outweighs all other considerations. Ensuring that is effective is obviously something I approach with a laser-like focus.”