May 3, 2024
Government shifts responsibility over new visas * Court was warned that detainee would reoffend
The man accused of bashing a Perth grandmother was among a group of former immigration detainees who were not required to wear ankle monitors under new visas issued in March due to a technical blunder.
The West Australian can reveal that Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan was allowed to remove his GPS tracker after the Commonwealth's community protection board advised against imposing the condition as part of his re-issued visa.
Mr Doukoshkan is now facing charges over the alleged home invasion and brutal bashing of 73-year-old Perth grandmother Ninette Simons.
Ms Simons and WA Premier Roger Cook are among those demanding answers about why Mr Doukoshkan wasn't being
monitored in the weeks before the alleged attack.
The 43-year-old was wearing an ankle bracelet when he was hauled before a Perth court in February over alleged curfew breaches.
During that appearance a Commonwealth prosecutor warned that Mr Doukoshkan would reoffend but did not oppose bail, saying: "The prosecution does have concerns about his ability to not commit further offences, particularly in relation to the curfew . . . notwithstanding that . . . we do not oppose bail with a personal undertaking being imposed." The charges against him were later dropped due to a technical blunder that forced the Commonwealth to reissue visas for the entire cohort freed after the High Court ruling.
Mr Doukoshkan was among a group of ex-detainees whose new visa conditions didn't include GPS tracking, based on advice from the board.
Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles issued the original visas last November, which included curfew and electronic monitoring requirements.
However, he did not decide on the conditions placed on the reissued visas, instead delegating responsibility to an official, a Federal Government spokesman said. Figures supplied to Senate estimates showed the number of ex-detainees who were not being electronically monitored rose from 36 in February to 73 by late March.
The new visas were issued on March 13.
Ms Simons confronted Mr Giles during a phone call on Wednesday about the failure to GPS track Mr Doukoshkan.
"That's what we can't understand, why was his ankle bracelet removed in March?" Ms Simons told Mr Giles from her Girrawheen home.
Mr Cook also demanded answers as he urged the Commonwealth to use all the powers available to "monitor, to track, and to supervise" the former detainees.
"I want the Commonwealth to have a precautionary approach in relation to (tracking detainees)," he said.
"If there's any doubt in people's minds whether these people represent a risk to the community, well then obviously we'd like to see electronic monitoring and other supervision methods be an important part of keeping us safe." Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson said the case had involved a "litany of failures from start to finish".
"I hope he (Mr Giles) gave her (Ms Simons) better answers than he's given the public, because so far, neither he nor the Home Affairs Minister has been able to explain why this person was free in the community, why they didn't oppose bail, why his ankle bracelet was removed, why before that, his ankle bracelet wasn't working and it took days before police went and saw him," he told Sky News.
The West Australian has sought an explanation from Federal authorities about why the community protection board believed Mr Doukoshkan did not require a GPS tracker.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday distanced his ministers from the board's recommendation, telling ABC radio "the community protection board is, of course, a board that's independent of politicians".
He sidestepped questions on whether the board had failed, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases.
The suggestion that the board - rather than politicians - is responsible for decisions on visa conditions is contradicted by evidence from Home Affairs and Border Force officials at Senate estimates earlier this year.
At a February 12 hearing, Border Force boss Michael Outram said the minister made decisions based on the board's recommendations and his endorsement as commissioner.
The mixed messaging will intensify scrutiny on the Federal Government, which is in damage control after The West revealed Commonwealth prosecutors did not oppose bail for Mr Doukoshkan at a February court hearing over repeated curfew breaches.
The eight-member board was established in December to advise the Federal Government on what conditions should be imposed on the cohort of immigration detainees released after the High Court's ruling on the NZYQ case.
Chaired by Border Force assistant commis sioner Sandra Jeffery, the eight-person board in cludes three other Commonwealth officials and four independent members.
The inde pendent members are former Victor ian Police com missioner Graham Ashton, former Queensland deputy police commissioner Peter Martin, clinical psychologist Monique Phipps and youth justice expert Carmel Guera, according to the board's website.
Mr Outram said the board considered a range of factors when making recommendations, including the individual's criminal past, behaviour in prison or detention and medical history.
"So the board use their expertise incredibly thoroughly in each case to make recommendations," he said.
On Wednesday, the Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil rejected calls to resign.
Caption Text:
Ninette Simons is helped to an ambulance after being attacked in her home on April 16. Below: One of the men accused of being involved, former detainee Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan. Opposite page: Andrew Giles, Clare O'Neil, Ms Simons & Anthony Albanese. Main picture: 7NEWS
