A sixth person has been arrested following a controversial Supreme Court ruling that freed 140 immigration detainees, including hardened criminals.
Australian Federal Police said a 36-year-old Eritrean-born man was arrested in Melbourne's west late Friday after failing to adhere to a curfew set out in laws rushed through parliament in response to the ruling. the Supreme Court.
It follows a 39-year-old man who was arrested in Brisbane on Thursday morning.
That man was taken into custody by Queensland Police on an outstanding NSW revocation of a conditional arrest warrant, in relation to a serious offence.
“He was taken to the Brisbane lookout house where NSW officers will travel to in the coming days to extradite the man,” NSW Police said in a statement.
Pressure is increasing on the Albanian government as the opposition demands an apology from the Australians.
When asked when he planned to fire Home Secretary Clare O'Neil, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government's response.
“Ministers O'Neil and (Immigration Minister) Giles have done more in one month to tackle this issue than either of them has done in nine years,” he told parliament.
Home Secretary Clare O'Neil (pictured) is facing mounting pressure after another recently released prisoner was arrested on Friday
Labor and the Coalition worked together last month to pass laws requiring released prisoners to wear ankle monitors and adhere to strict curfews.
The government has scrambled to respond to the Supreme Court's decision, which overturned 20 years of legal precedent to declare illegal the indefinite detention of non-citizens when there was no prospect of any country resettling them.
The ruling resulted in the release of 140 inmates into the community, some of whom had served prison sentences for violent crimes.
Further changes to the Migration Act in the field of preventive detention were adopted by parliament on Wednesday evening.
Violating the curfew carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $93,900 fine.
A 45-year-old man was the fourth former detainee to be charged after allegedly breaking the curfew of his visa conditions and stealing luggage from Melbourne airport.
Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley said the government owes Australians an apology and answers for “not even having laws in place for preventive detention”.
“We may not have had these people arrested, at least two of them, because they may have been put back behind bars where they belong,” she said.
“The test for this government now is critical: what will they do to ensure women and children in Australia are safe.”