Murderer wins High Court case against government
The curfew and ankle monitoring restrictions imposed on a convicted murderer after he was released from immigration detention have been declared invalid by the nation’s highest court.
The Papua New Guinean citizen argued that unconstitutional conditions were imposed on him when he was granted a bridging visa after his release from detention.
The conditions included a requirement that the man wear a monitoring device at all times and stay at a designated address between 22:00 and 06:00 every day.
The federal government argued the measures were necessary to protect the Australian community from the man convicted of murder as a minor and domestic violence offenses as an adult.
But the Supreme Court mostly ruled the conditions invalid, dealing another blow to the federal government’s attempts to monitor people released from immigration detention.
The government introduced the monitoring regime after the 2023 Supreme Court ruled that indefinite immigration detentions are unlawful if there is no reasonable prospect of the person being removed from Australia in the foreseeable future.
The decision led to the release of 150 immigration detainees with criminal records; some of them had serious criminal convictions, including murder and rape.
The arrest of some of them for allegedly committing crimes again after their release sparked violent reactions in the public and political spheres.
The government reacted by passing laws requiring some former detainees to wear ankle monitors and comply with a curfew, but these measures were rescinded in 2024.
The Supreme Court ruled the conditions were unconstitutional because they represented punishment imposed by the government rather than the courts.
The man, who was successful in his latest Supreme Court appeal, was detained on immigration detention after being released on parole for domestic violence offences.
The Supreme Court ruled that the conditions imposed on him when he was released were not in line with the country’s constitution.
Home Secretary Tony Burke predicts the PNG man and others in the NZYQ group will be moved to a small Pacific island.
“Fortunately, we now have an agreement with Nauru, because the best thing for people whose visas have been canceled is not to be in this country,” he said in his statement.
“Wrist bracelets were never the government’s intention, although it is clear the government would have preferred a different outcome.”
