Former indefinite detainees freed by a landmark High Court ruling have committed 27 crimes since their release, prompting calls for the minister responsible to be sacked.
Grant Nicholls, acting deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, told a Senate Estimates hearing on Tuesday night that seven of the 18 crimes committed by former detainees were currently before state and territory prosecutors.
Another seven commonwealth cases handled by the AFP were related to crimes against the Immigration Law for non-compliance with their visas, while one matter remains under consideration.
The detainees They were released in November after the High Court declared indefinite detention illegal.
Documents presented to the Senate on Monday revealed that among the 149 released detainees there are 37 sex offenders, 72 convicted of violent crimes, kidnapping or armed robbery, and seven convicted of murder or attempted murder.
The government’s delayed attempts to put detainees back behind bars have led to calls for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to be sacked.
Calls for the dismissal of Immigration Minister Andrew Giles (pictured) have increased following Senate revelations about crimes committed by dangerous detainees published by a High Court ruling.
Nicholls was inundated with questions about crimes committed by released detainees from Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson during the Senate Estimates hearing.
The acting deputy commissioner of the AFP revealed that the seven people arrested by federal agents were for violating the curfew between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. imposed on all former detainees.
While four were released on bail, three remain in custody after being “rearrested for subsequent violations,” according to Nicholls.
Mr Paterson followed up with questions about details of non-Commonwealth crimes and whether the 36 people released without tracking devices were among the criminals.
Nicholls did not have enough information to respond.
“I was hoping the AFP would be able to answer these questions,” Mr Paterson said.
“It’s been helpful with some questions, but I would have thought they weren’t difficult or complex questions.”
Liberal senator Jane Hume and deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley criticized Giles on Wednesday for his “inept” response to the High Court ruling.
Ley called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to fire Giles as he has not yet applied for a single preventive detention order.
“If (Mr Albanese) doesn’t sack him it will be the Prime Minister’s fault because it is absolutely disgraceful,” he told Sky News.
“I went through this charade at the end of last year, we rushed through the legislation, wrote half of it for the government, and they just stood by.
“He is completely inept and completely incompetent…Andrew Giles has to go.”
Giles said he and the government are actively “preparing applications” which have been slow to come forward due to the “very high threshold required to submit a successful application”.
Coming to Giles’ aid on Wednesday were Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.
The 149 detainees, many of whom had committed dangerous crimes, were released in November after the High Court (pictured) ruled that indefinite detention was unlawful.
O’Neil said the process of putting released dangerous detainees back behind bars was “much more difficult” and praised the government’s actions after the ruling.
“What you saw was that within weeks of the High Court decision, the Government had established four levels of protection for the community,” he told Sunrise.
‘That included two new laws in our Parliament, the imposition of ankle bracelet checks and curfews, and a $250 million investment in our police to ensure the community is safe.
“Minister Giles and I have had a singular priority in managing this issue and that has been the safety of the Australian community.”
Meanwhile, Plibersek attempted to shift the blame to opposition leader Peter Dutton for her actions while she was immigration minister.
“Peter Dutton as Immigration Minister helped this guy stay in Australia, then the High Court says this guy and others like him can’t be detained indefinitely, so we have Peter Dutton as Immigration Minister on the one hand, and to the High Court on the other. others,” he told Sky News.
“And as a government we are faced with cleaning up the mess of these decisions, and that is what we are doing.”