Recently released immigration detainees will soon be subject to similar measures as high-risk terrorists after preventive detention laws were passed by parliament.
The House of Representatives voted 68-59 on Wednesday evening in favor of the laws relating to released detainees who pose an unacceptable risk of committing a serious violent or sexual offense.
The laws were introduced after the Supreme Court ruled that indefinite immigration detention was invalid, resulting in the release of nearly 150 detainees.
Under the law, released detainees who were deemed by a court to pose an unacceptable risk would be put back behind bars.
The maximum duration of the arrest warrant is three years, but is 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 Supreme 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 Supreme Court's decision,” he told parliament.
“The government did not choose to be in this position.
“The situation has been imposed on this parliament by the Supreme Court.
“The preventive detention regime would allow the court to arrest the worst of the worst offenders.
“To be clear, this does not count all prisoners released since the Supreme Court's ruling.”
A fourth man recently released from detention was arrested on Wednesday after a 45-year-old allegedly broke the curfew of his visa conditions and stole luggage from Melbourne airport.
Of the almost 150 detainees, four are said to have reoffended.
Two are registered sex offenders.
Emran Dad, 33, was charged in court on Tuesday for breaching his reporting obligations to police after allegedly contacting a child and failing to disclose social media accounts.
Afghan asylum seeker Emran Dad, 33, is one of four detainees arrested since their release under the Supreme Court ruling
The heads of the Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police briefed the Prime Minister and Premiers on Wednesday on Operation Aegis, the joint operation to ensure community safety in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
Mr Giles has also been in contact with State and Territory Ministers to ensure the necessary preparations to keep the community safe were underway.
Lawsuits had been prepared in anticipation of the laws being passed.
Layers of protection were being put in place to ensure the safety of Australians, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said.
The new laws could withstand a Supreme Court challenge after previous laws were struck down, she said.
“The safety of the Australian community is of the utmost importance to us,” she said.
Neither minister confirmed how many people would be covered by the new laws, nor how many applications were in the works.
The reason the timing and number of arrest warrants were not released was the risk of biasing cases, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told parliament.
The detainees' crimes were also kept secret, despite Giles previously telling parliament that there were three murderers and several sex offenders among the cohort.
The opposition has chastised the government for not having legislation that could be implemented immediately once the court ruling was handed down, preventing offenders from being released.
Aliyawar Yawari, 65, is a convicted sex offender who was labeled a 'danger to the Australian community' by a judge after he attacked three women and kicked in a mother's door
The November 8 Supreme Court ruling found that indefinite detention was unlawful, allowing 148 dangerous non-citizens to be released from detention (photo: a released prisoner last week)
“They said we didn't need a preventive detention regime, or that we couldn't have a preventive detention regime,” said Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley.
“The next thing the Home Secretary said was that parliament will not leave until we have such a regime.
“How can that build confidence in people about the safety of the community?”
But Attorney General Mark Dreyfus blasted the coalition for failing to understand how Supreme Court rulings work.
The government cannot override the Constitution, Dreyfus said.
Any delay could expose the Commonwealth and individual officials to legal action and damages, he said.
“The Supreme Court's decision sets a new limit on the authority to detain someone in the same position as the plaintiff in that case and this decision had to be implemented immediately,” he said.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the debate over the laws was a race to the bottom, with “some of them having committed heinous crimes, and many of them not.”
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