Previous Coalition attorneys general had refused to permit the AHRC to intervene in contentious cases.
Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus gave the go-ahead for the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)—a statutory body which reports to Parliament—to lodge an amicus brief with the High Court opposing the government’s policy on indefinite detention.
The High Court in November ruled it illegal, leading to 148 people—many of whom were convicted of serious crimes—to be released into the community.
The Court was considering the case of NZYQ, who was in Australia on a temporary visa, which was cancelled in 2015 when he was convicted of sex with a minor.
When his sentence ended in 2018, the government transferred him to immigration detention because no country could be found that would take him.
Previously, the legal precedent was established by the Al-Kateb case, which authorised indefinite detention where the offender was considered to be a danger to the community and could not be deported.
Related Stories
Documents tabled in the Senate reveal that, on June 5, the same day the request was submitted, Mr. Dreyfus authorised the AHRC’s intervention in favour of NZYQ, provided…
Read the full article here