Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said the government would do everything possible to ensure community safety but couldn’t act without the advice of the solicitor-general,who warned the High Court on Wednesday that the cohort featured convicted murderers,sex offenders and people smugglers.
Giles said the government had given “quite some thought” to the outcome of the case but declined to outline any solutions,including legislation or special visas,after the Coalition called for an urgent,legislative fix.
“The High Court has just handed down a decision which has substantially changed the operation of the law insofar as it relates to immigration detention,” he said.
“In order to ensure community safety for those who are affected by this,many of whom have committed serious criminal offences,we need to make sure that our response is consistent with the law as set out by the High Court yesterday.”
Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue,KC,told the High Court that overturning the Commonwealth’s ability to indefinitely detain people would allow entry into Australia for those with such bad character that they were rejected by every other country.
“The more undesirable they are,such that the more difficult it is to remove them to any other country in the world,the stronger their case for admission into the Australian community,” he said.
Donaghue said about 92 people were in similar situations to the plaintiff,who was given the pseudonym NZYQ,and another 340 people in detention could also be affected by the decision.