4 September 2024
As Immigration Minister, Andrew Giles put public safety at risk to do less work which speaks volumes about the Albanese Labor Government’s approach to immigration and national security.
The Guardian revealed today that Minister Giles asked the Department of Home Affairs to reduce the number of visa cancellations sent to him for review by only sending him cases that posed a “very serious ongoing risk”.
The Coalition Government had reviewed cases at a lower benchmark —those considered a “serious risk” — but Minister Giles cancelled those instructions and inserted the higher threshold to reduce the number of cases sent to him for review.
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Dan Tehan said the revelation was more proof that Labor could not be trusted on immigration or national security.
“When it comes to examples of Labor’s failure to properly manage immigration, we are well past the straw that broke the camel’s back. The camel has long since suffocated under the weight of Labor’s incompetence,” Mr Tehan said.
“Minister Giles was a failure in the Immigration portfolio and Prime Minister Albanese must own that failure.
“The Prime Minister gave his factional ally a job that he was ill-equipped to perform and refused to sack him despite a long-running series of mishaps and mismanagement.
“Australians should never forget the grandmother and cancer survivor, Ninette Simons, who was allegedly bashed by an immigration detention detainee released by Labor, or the man allegedly murdered by a non-citizen who had avoided deportation because of Labor’s Ministerial Direction 99.”
Today’s revelation will be added to the Minister Giles and Prime Minister Albanese Hall of Shame on immigration:
- Record one million migrants arriving as Australians endured housing shortages, record rent increases and a cost-of-living crisis.
- Seven murderers, 37 sex offenders, and 72 violent offenders released into the community with weak, or no, supervision.
- Released at least 83 detainees from immigration detention into the community without visas and visa conditions but told Parliament and the public that all detainees were released with “strict conditions”.
- Issued tourist visas for Palestinians from a terrorist-controlled war zone without detailing the security checks in place to ensure none supported Hamas.
- More than 150 non-citizens awaiting deportation were released into the community with the wrong visa.
Removed the ankle bracelet from a criminal released from immigration detention, who went on to allegedly bash and rob a grandmother.
- Signed and introduced Ministerial Direction 99 that saw non-citizen criminals who should have been deported allowed to remain in Australia, with at least one going on to allegedly commit murder, then allowed the Prime Minister to blame public servants for the mess.
- More than 47,000 asylum seekers arrived in Australia by plane.
- Skipped three important meetings with his department about the mass release of hardened criminals from immigration detention and instead promoted the Voice referendum and flew to the United Kingdom to attend a Labour Party conference.
- Tried to ram through legislation with no consultation and debate and when the Coalition recommended sensible amendments following a Senate Inquiry, he dropped the “urgent” legislation, which has not been seen since.
- Invented a non-existent drone surveillance program when under pressure in a media interview then blamed his department — which had given clear written advice there was no such program.
- Was the star attraction at multiple Victorian Labor party fundraisers where he was lobbied on visa issues as he spent his first six months in the job rattling the tin for the Andrews Government.
- For seven months he did nothing about the Nixon Review which had highlighted serious organised crime operating within the visa system.
ENDS
