Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke has been accused of risking community safety for not immediately intervening in the release of a former immigration detainee who attacked his wife with a meat cleaver.
A Federal Court ruling on December 18 overturned an attempt by former immigration minister Andrew Giles to cancel the visa of the Bhutan-born man, known as PLQF, under the failed ministerial Direction 99.
PLQF, who is of the persecuted Lhotshampa heritage, was one of the convicted criminals released following the High Court’s landmark NZYQ ruling in November 2023.
That ruling determined indefinite detention was unlawful and resulted in the release of 224 detainees.
The man, who has also been diagnosed with PTSD, schizophrenia and alcohol use disorder, was detained after he was convicted of multiple crimes between 2017 to 2020.
Those crimes included assaulting his wife with a meat cleaver, damaging her vehicle, threats to kill his wife and breaching a domestic violence order.
Immigration Minister Tony Burke has been questioned for not immediately intervening in the release of an ex immigration detainee who was convicted of assaulting his wife with a meat cleaver. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman
In another instance in December 2020, PLQF was convicted of threatening his wife, which resulted in her fleeing their home with their two children.
During that altercation, PLQF also attacked a neighbour with a meat cleaver “five or six times”.
In the Federal Court’s ruling Judge Nye Perram said Mr Giles had made several “jurisdictional errors” in his attempt to have PLQF’s visa cancelled.
Judge Perram said the then-minister “failed to have a complete understanding” of the legislation or the impact on PLQF’s “minor children” and thus the decision “must be quashed”.
While Mr Burke is currently on annual leave, a spokesperson for Department of Home Affairs said they were “aware” of the Federal Court decision, and were “considering the judgment” but declined to comment further.
The Federal Court stopped sitting on December 20 for the Christmas break and will not resume until February 3.
However, Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson attacked Mr Burke for the government’s go-slow on further intervention in locking up the convicted criminal.
“Tony Burke might be on holiday now, but the court handed down its decision almost a month ago on December 18,” he told NewsWire.
“Why wasn’t an appeal immediately launched? Why is it taking them so long to make the obvious decision to put community safety first and deport this violent non-citizen offender?
“The truth is only a Dutton Coalition government can clean up Labor’s immigration mess.”
Mr Burke’s office did not respond to queries regarding his return.
Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Mr Burke should have immediately launched an appeal after the Federal Court overturned a decision by his predecessor Andrew Giles to cancel the man’s visa. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
The latest controversy following fallout from the NZYQ ruling comes after the High Court ruled in November 2024 that a stopgap to monitor criminal immigration detainees with ankle monitors and curfews was illegal.
Following the subsequent ruling, Mr Burke issued a regulation which allowed him to reimpose the conditions.
Of the 224 detainees which were released under the NZYQ ruling, figures from the Department of Home Affairs confirmed in November that at least 12 people had been convicted of murder, or attempted murder, 66 had been convicted of sexual offences, 97 of assault, 15 on domestic violence charges, and 15 with serious drug offences.
Another 65 former detainees have also been charged with additional state or territory offences since their release, with 20 of those non-citizens in remand.