June 3, 2024
Labor works on new measure
Foreigners convicted of serious violent offences will be able to continue to use their connection to Australia to appeal visa cancellations for up to several months until Labor's disastrous immigration direction is replaced.
An interim workaround to stop non-citizen criminals having their deportation overturned will rely on Immigration Minister Andrew Giles using ministerial discretion to intervene in cases affected by the current "Direction 99" until a new measure comes into effect.
The Coalition has called on the federal government to immediately fix the failed Direction 99, which has allowed greater weight to be placed on a non-citizen's longstanding connection to Australia when considering visa cancellations.
When Mr Giles first signed off on Direction 99 in January 2023 there was a transitionary period of six weeks before it officially commenced, meaning a new order issued this week would not apply until August.
The scramble to undo the damage caused by what the government has argued was an unintended interpretation of the direction by members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considering visa cancellations, is expected to continue for some weeks as Mr Giles reviews urgent cases.
So far he has cancelled 20 visas following revelations non-citizens convicted of serious sex offences, child sex abuse, domestic and family violence were permitted to stay in Australia due to Direction 99.
Mr Giles has also ordered his department to inform him of any deportations overturned by the AAT within 24 hours.
Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said now the government had conceded its direction had caused these problems, it must "urgently finalise" the replacement.
"Otherwise we will have the department and the AAT continuing to allow hardcore criminal non-citizens to stay in our country instead of being deported as they always should have been," he said.
"Enough damage has been done already further delays only make matters worse." Anthony Albanese last week announced Labor would issue a new direction to replace the previous one with a more common sense approach that prioritised community safety.
It has since been revealed the Prime Minister and Mr Giles instructed the Department of Home Affairs to "fix" the issue of New Zealand citizens who had spent most of their lives in Australia being deported after committing crimes, according to Sky News Australia.
Mr Albanese has denied the direction was changed as a direct result of a request from then-NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern when the two leaders met in mid-2022.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said on Sunday the original Direction 99 was not a "mistake," but had been interpreted in a way that was "very different to how the government intended".
