Embattled Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has changed claims that drones were used to monitor released detainees following a High Court ruling.
After saying in a media interview that drones were used to monitor released detainees, Giles admitted that the technology was not adopted for that purpose.
“I relied on information provided by my department at the time, which has since been clarified,” he said in a statement Monday.
Embattled Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has changed claims that drones were used to monitor released detainees following a High Court ruling.
“As part of the work to monitor and support community safety, Operation AEGIS draws on information from a variety of sources using different technologies, including open source aerial imagery and other imagery, through its work with the state and territory law enforcement agencies.
More than 150 detained immigrants were released following a High Court ruling in November that found indefinite detention illegal.
Those released had been subjected to electronic surveillance and strict curfews.
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said the minister was not being forthcoming with information following the drone revelation.
“I don’t think Andrew Giles is fully up front and answering the questions that he needs to answer,” he told ABC TV on Monday.
“We need to know that because… over the weekend, he told the Australian people that what he had said (about the use of drones) was true, that it was accurate.”
The revelation comes as the under-pressure minister said a revised ministerial directive for a controversial directive, which allowed foreigners convicted of serious crimes to keep their visas, would come into force within days.
An update to the contentious Directive 99 will be in place at the end of the week, after an outcry over the use of the appeals court to reinstate visas of foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes.
The direction, which prioritized a person’s ties to Australia, was implemented following concerns in New Zealand that people who had no connection to the country were being deported through Tasmania.
Giles said the new direction would place a greater emphasis on community safety.
“It is clear that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s decision to reinstate these visas did not meet community expectations, and the 99 ministerial direction has not been functioning as the government intended,” he said.
“The government is on track to reform this regime and establish new direction before the end of the week.”
The minister said 30 visas for foreign nationals with serious criminal records were canceled last week due to national interest.
“Community safety is our number one priority and we will always act in the interests of Australians,” Mr Giles said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament the government would continue to prioritize security.
‘We continue to reject and cancel visas for reasons of character. We continue to deport people who have no right to be here,’ he stated.