Nat Barr has criticized Anthony Albanese after a released immigration detainee allegedly punched an elderly woman in a horror home invasion.
Ninette Simmons, 73, and her husband Phillip, 76, were left bruised and shaken after three men allegedly attacked them and stole jewelery from their Perth home.
One of the alleged perpetrators, 43-year-old Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan, is part of a cohort of immigration detainees at the center of a political firestorm.
The Sunrise host questioned how the government’s Community Protection Board had failed to recommend that the released prisoner wear an ankle monitoring device.
Prosecutors told the hearing that Mr Doukoshkan, who came to Australia from Kuwait, was “likely to offend again” and had compliance issues, but the board ruled he did not have to wear the bracelet.
“Commonwealth prosecutors apparently did not oppose bail in those circumstances in Perth. Your own administration has not recommended an ankle bracelet,” Barr said.
She asked Mr Albanese whether Home Secretary Clare O’Neil would be sacked over the debacle.
The Prime Minister simply said ‘no’ and said he could not make the decision himself.
Nat Barr (left) has criticized Anthony Albanese (right) and called for the resignation of one of his ministers after an elderly woman was attacked by a released immigration detainee
Recently released immigration detainee Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan (above), who is accused of preying on an elderly woman in her own home, has been in and out of court this year
“Nat, in this country we have a separation between the legal system and the political system. But if it were up to me, I assure you that bail would not have been granted in that case,” Mr Albanese replied.
“But these things are done independently by the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
Barr fired back: “But there was no opposition.”
“That was not a decision by the Nat government,” the prime minister refuted.
‘I’m as angry about that decision as you are, I think it lacks common sense.
“That’s undoubtedly one of the things that will be on the agenda today at the attorneys-general’s meeting, which will be chaired by Mark Dreyfus in Canberra, bringing together all the states and territories to look at bail laws, to look at to look at these issues.’
Barr urged the prime minister to accept responsibility for the failure.
“If you have a board that says this person doesn’t need an ankle bracelet, isn’t that a failure?” she said.
‘Yes, that’s true. I think this is a wrong decision by that board,” Mr Albanese replied.
Nat interrupted: [A board] that you appointed, so who is responsible for that?’
Ninette Simmons, 73, and her husband Phillip, 76, were left bruised and shaken after three men allegedly attacked them and stole jewelery from their Perth home on April 16.
Mr Albanese said his ‘heart went out’ to Ninette (pictured) after the alleged home invasion
“They make the decisions independently,” Mr. Albanese continued.
“One of the things we have in this country is a divorce there and the whole NZYQ case was something we were against, that Supreme Court decision. The government has had to deal with the implications and results of this.
‘We tried that. We have introduced a series of laws. “We now have a bill before the Senate that we wanted to pass in March, when Parliament was still in session, and that was held up by a new investigation by a coalition of Liberals and Greens,” Mr Albanese explained.
‘So we want to act as forcefully as possible here. We recognize that community safety is the absolute priority.
‘My heart goes out to Ninette. No one should be exposed to this kind of violence. It’s a shame this happened.’
Doukoshkan was one of 154 men released from immigration detention in November after the Supreme Court ruled that indefinite detention was unlawful.
On Thursday, Barr asked Interior Minister Clare O’Neil why released prisoner Jamshidi Doukoshkan was not wearing an ankle monitoring device.
Ms O’Neil dodged the question, saying she could not comment and might pause criminal proceedings against the man.
Natalie Barr asked Home Secretary Clare O’Neil (pictured) why released prisoner Jamshidi Doukoshkan was not wearing an ankle monitoring device
“So one of the layers of protection that we have, Nat, is a group of very experienced law enforcement officers who make decisions about how people in the community are monitored,” she said.
Barr fired back, asking a question on the minds of many Australians.
“Aren’t you responsible for the Community Protection Board making these decisions?
‘And they didn’t give him an ankle bracelet?
“Do you think people feel safe there,” Barr asked.
Ms. O’Neil again dodged the question: “Well, I’m not going to comment on the details of the case.”