The Coalition has repeatedly singled out Immigration Minister Andrew Giles as the weakest link in the Albanian ministry over his handling of the disastrous High Court decision to release 149 asylum seekers detained in the community.
But Giles, with a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet dangling from her arm, couldn’t help but crack a smile on Thursday afternoon as she had her last laugh about Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
It looked like the bleakest Question Time yet for Giles, a former Labor left lawyer who previously represented refugees, after Victoria Police announced it had charged a released repeat rapist with sexual assault and stalking offences.
The arrest, of the kind the Albanian government feared, caused an uproar in Parliament and culminated in Dutton calling for Giles to lose his job and describing it as a “disaster”.
“Prime Minister, the Immigration Minister is a disaster,” thundered Mr Dutton.
‘When will they show leadership, stop being so weak and fire this minister?’
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has been singled out by the Coalition as the weakest link in the Albanian ministry, but as the session week came to an end on Thursday afternoon, he had the last laugh.
Giles wore a skin-tight Taylor Swift friendship bracelet with an inspiring message from one of her songs: ‘Shake it Off’.
The Prime Minister was unwavering in his support, just as Mr Giles was unwavering in his decision not to engage in discussions about the allegations against the individual.
In the months since the High Court decision on November 8, the opposition has repeatedly described Mr Giles as “incompetent” and “ineffective”.
Since the decision, the opposition has attacked Mr Giles in most Question Time sessions, viewing the soft-spoken MP as an easy target.
The Prime Minister refused to bow to the demand to sack Mr Giles on Tuesday and the minister, who was wearing a bracelet reading “Shake It Off”, used the premise that court proceedings were still ongoing to dodge the question.
“I want to be very clear – and I think all members will appreciate this – that I am not in a position to comment on any individual case, and I will not do so, because I will not risk prejudicing any judicial proceedings,” he said.
Pressed further on the matter, he said: “With regard to this case, and as I have already responded, I am not in a position to comment on the individual case.” Off’.
Across the chamber, the Coalition scoffed. They argued the Australian public expected, and deserved, an explanation for why the man had not been rearrested under legislation that gives the minister the power to protect the community from people at high risk of reoffending.
In fact, the then alleged offender, from Papua New Guinea, had a history of horrific assaults – he was first jailed in 2008 for entering women’s homes in Queensland three times in 2008 and indecently touching one.
He also raped a woman in Melbourne in 2012, earning him a second four-year prison sentence, before being transferred to an immigration detention centre.
Giles maintained his composure during the withering attacks, offering brief responses reminding those against that their responses were a reflection of the law.
Giles worked as a lawyer and acted as a solicitor representing 433 asylum seekers attempting to reach Australian territory aboard the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa in 2001, before entering parliament.
Giles worked as a lawyer and acted as a solicitor representing 433 asylum seekers attempting to reach Australian territory aboard the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa in 2001, before entering parliament.
Part of the reason he has been identified as an easy target for the Coalition is that he has been outspoken – for years – about his position on asylum seekers and refugees.
Giles, who was elected as a Labor MP representing the Scullin electorate in Melbourne’s north in 2013, said this experience convinced him to run for office.
“Prior to September 2001, I had not given much thought to Australia’s policies in relation to asylum seekers or the politics of this issue,” he told Parliament in 2014.
‘I suspect I’m not alone. Since then, it has been very different. The arrival of the people on the MV Tampa into Australian waters clearly represented a watershed moment in Australian politics and society.
‘In 2001, I was a small part of the legal team acting on behalf of asylum seekers in Tampa. This participation, more than anything else, led me to seek election for this place.
‘We must not forget the history of Tampa, in all its dimensions. He changed me as a young lawyer acting on behalf of refugees.”
Several hours after the Prime Minister abruptly ended question time, Giles’s approach was justified.
Following Thursday’s mishap, a Labor insider told Daily Mail Australia that “he’s just a genuine guy.”
“To be blamed for what happened yesterday is really a farce. She did the right thing.’
Several hours after the Prime Minister abruptly ended question time, Mr Giles’ attitude to the session was justified.
Victoria Police issued a statement revealing they had made a mistake and that all charges against the 44-year-old suspect would be dropped.
‘Police arrested a man last night as part of their investigation into two incidents that occurred in Richmond on February 27.
‘Police have since notified the Richmond man’s legal representation and began the process to formally drop the charges.
‘Detectives returned to an address in Richmond today and identified a man on CCTV who they now believe is the person who was involved in the incidents. That man has not been arrested at this time.
The investigation is ongoing.
Albanese on Friday morning criticized the Coalition’s approach to the arrest, saying “police and authorities must be allowed to do their jobs free from this preventive political game.”
“I’m waiting for Peter Dutton to take responsibility for yesterday’s debacle when he made completely false allegations against ministers.”
Immigration has been a key election battleground in the crucial Victorian seat of Dunkley, with right-wing campaign group Advance running ads about the number of rapists freed after the High Court decision.
Dutton said the issue surrounding the charges was “certainly regrettable, and has been addressed by Victoria Police”.
“But look, at the end of the day, as we know here in Victoria, including here in Dunkley, crime is a huge problem.
“And I think one of the frustrations that I suspect Victoria Police have is that their efforts are distracted from the local response that the community here is demanding to apply resources to what is a monumental matter on the part of the Government of freeing 149 criminals hardened criminals, including sexual offenders.’