The immigration minister has revealed that 80 people have been released from immigration detention after the High Court determined they were being kept unlawfully.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles on Monday morning said that although the federal government has argued against the outcome, they have prepared for it.
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Those people, including Malaysian hitman Sirul Azhar Umar, are now in the community with appropriate visas.
Mr Giles said community safety was the priority, and the Australian Federal Police and Border Force were involved in the process.
“There are a number of people, around 90, who are likely to be in similar circumstances to that individual,” he said.
“It is important to note the High Court hasn’t yet provided reasons for the decision, so the full ramifications of the decision won’t be able to be determined,” Mr Giles said.
“We have taken every step to ensure community safety. That’s something I really want to press,” he said.
“But we’re not pausing on what was available to us as now. We are looking at every lawful step we can do to ensure going forward that we’ve taken every step to ensure the safety of the Australian community.”
However, the federal opposition said the decision kept the public in the dark about the situation, as 83 were held on character grounds.
Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan said: “The public needs to know, and the public wants to know, what is the government doing to keep them safe?”
“What are the character grounds that these people were being held on? What are they doing to liaise with state and territory authorities to keep the community safe?”
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