The government ministers in charge of immigration and national security were sacked by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday, shaking up the scandal-plagued departments.
Following a historic court decision that resulted in the release of over 100 immigration inmates, many of whom had been found guilty of assault, kidnapping, and murder, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has been under intense pressure.
By reassigning Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to other positions, Albanese has attempted to put an end to the politically damaging drama.
Tony Burke, an experienced government problem solver, assumed both jobs.
Some of the detainees were charged with further crimes after they were released, stoking a barrage of bad publicity for the centre-left Labor government.
Officials scrambled to fit the cohort with ankle monitoring bracelets while imposing other strict conditions such as curfews.
Under the old policy, migrants could be detained indefinitely if Australia refused them a visa but could not legally deport them elsewhere — for example, if they faced the death penalty in their home country.
Many were left to languish for years in austere Australian detention camps, with nowhere to go and no chance of release.
However, a 20-year-old bipartisan policy was overturned and over 150 prisoners were forced to be released after a High Court decision in November declared this to be “unlawful”.
Seven of those freed had been found guilty of murder or attempted murder, while more than 70 had been denied visas due to a history of violent offenses, including assault.
In 1992, Australia started requiring anyone without visas to be detained.
Human Rights Watch data shows that the average immigration detainee in Australia is held for 708 days, and over 120 individuals have been detained for more than five years.
Australia first adopted a strict border policy in response to large numbers of people arriving by boat from China, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
However, proponents of refugees attacked it, calling the UN refugee agency’s approach “arbitrary” and “punitive”.
