Australia has introduced emergency legislation following a High Court ruling, imposing up to five years’ imprisonment on migrants with criminal records who breach their visa conditions.
This measure responds to the court’s decision last week that prolonged detention of foreigners as an alternative to deportation is unconstitutional, resulting in the release of 84 individuals, many with convictions for serious crimes like murder and rape.
This ruling overturns a 2004 decision allowing indefinite holding of stateless individuals in migrant centers.
The new legislation also affects Australia’s policies on asylum-seekers arriving by boat and deporting long-term residents convicted of crimes.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles presented this legislation, allowing the government to impose electronic tracking and curfew requirements on certain migrants; failure to comply may result in a five-year prison sentence.
Giles emphasized community safety as the main objective, but human rights lawyers argued these measures could be seen as excessive and punitive, lacking proper scrutiny.
The government claims strict visa conditions have been imposed on released migrants, but some were initially freed without visas in a rush to adhere to the court’s decision.
The legislation was pushed through the House of Representatives on Thursday morning.
The government later accepted further amendments proposed by the opposition in a deal that ensures support for the key changes in the Senate.