Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

In the final moments, I just want to take the minister back to the answer that he gave Senator Hanson, because it's worth digging into what the minister said in response to her questions about the need to release the detainees. On 8 November, the High Court issued a writ of habeas corpus in NZYQ, and we've never disputed that you needed to comply with that order. That's clear. Of course you did. And, of course, the principles laid down by the High Court in the NZYQ case will apply more broadly. That is the nature of High Court reasons. The High Court will not grant special leave to appeal unless the case is significant across the board.

But the thing that the government is trying to hide is that it is dependent on a government assessment. I would put to you that the misleading part of the comment that you gave to Senator Hanson is this: the decision to release, in each case, is a government decision. Let's just assume for a minute—and I can't say that this is the case—that each of the 147 detainees was required to be released. If that were true, it should have involved 147 decisions, each of which involved the careful application of the principles laid down by the High Court over 74 paragraphs. It should have involved the facts, the history of the matter and the prospects of removal, in light of the principles articulated by the seven justices of the court. But the only thing we can say for sure is that in the vast majority of cases that didn't happen. We know that, because at the time the government released the vast majority of detainees it did not have the court's reasons. The Attorney-General can make all the statements that he wants and then table them in the Senate, saying, 'Oh dear, the High Court made me do it,' because that is literally what we have been hearing from the government day after day, excuse after excuse after excuse—the Attorney-General: 'It isn't my fault;' the Prime Minister: 'It isn't my fault.' Meanwhile, the Australian people will be living with paedophiles, murderers, rapists and a contract killer who have no right to remain in Australia. That is a fact. And they were released because the Albanese Labor government—the Prime Minister himself, Minister Giles and Minister O'Neil—bungled the case in the High Court and then panicked and botched the response. The record should be crystal clear that this is a debacle of your own making. The question before we finish is: what is the status of the 340 additional individuals who were referenced in the High Court hearing?