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Three violent offenders who were members of the NZYQ visa cohort will be resettled in Nauru after having their Australian visas ceased, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says.
Burke on Sunday said all three have criminal histories, with one convicted of murder.
The three offenders were released into the Australian community after the . The decision led to the abrupt release of 150 immigration detainees, some of whom had serious criminal convictions including murder and rape.
In the wake of this, the government passed new migration laws last year that would, among other things, allow non-citizens to be deported to third countries.
The laws were criticised by some, including the Human Rights Law Centre, and told SBS News at the time they could have “devastating consequences for thousands of people’s lives”.
Offenders to be deported ‘as soon as possible’
Burke said the three men being removed from Australia had failed a character test, and their bridging visas were ceased after Nauru issued long-term resettlement visas on Saturday.
He said they would not be deported within the next seven days, but it would occur “as soon as possible” once arrangements are made.
“When somebody has come and treated Australians in a way that shows an appalling character, their visas do get cancelled and when their visas are cancelled, they should leave,” he told reporters on Sunday.
He signalled Nauru could take others from the cohort, saying the government there “had described these three visas as the first three”.
Individuals would be able to participate in the community
Those deported to Nauru under the arrangement would live in a facility that Burke said he had recently inspected.
He said they were individual dwelling with a shared kitchen space, and they would be free to move around the island.
“The island’s not that easy to move around,” Burke said. “But from where they will be it’s a relatively short walk to a bus that will allow them to be go to the community and they will be allowed to work in the community”
Government anticipates legal challenge
The federal government anticipates the arrangement with Nauru could face a court challenge, Burke said.
“We are confident in the laws we put in place last year to protect community safety,” he said.
Burke said there were costs associated with the deal but did not provide details..
“There is also a cost in the high level of monitoring … that happens when these individuals are in the community here in Australia,” he said.
“There was also a cost when they were being held in detention, there was a cost before that when they were being held in prison.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton took aim at Labor’s record on immigration, saying the coalition faced another borders “mess” if it returned to power after the upcoming election.
“(But) we’re happy to have a look at arrangements that the government’s put in place,” he told reporters in Darwin on Sunday.
