“It makes it clear that the safety of the Australian community is the Albanese government’s highest priority and includes this as a key principle of the decision-making framework.”
Giles said Direction 99 would be revoked on 21 June when the new order comes into effect.
What is Direction 99 and why is it controversial?
The ministerial direction was issued by Giles after lobbying from the New Zealand government over the deportation of Kiwi nationals with criminal convictions who had spent most of their lives in Australia.
The government claims the order was misinterpreted in its application, with the AAT not prioritising community safety as the primary consideration.
“I’m taking responsibility for putting in place a direction that sends a clear signal to decision-makers and the Australian community about how they should go about making these decisions,” he said.
What is Direction 110?
Its objective is to “regulate, in the national interest, the coming into, and presence in, Australia of non-citizens”.
The “primary considerations” under Direction 110 include:
- The protection of the Australian community from criminal or other serious conduct
- Whether the conduct engaged in constituted family violence
- The strength, nature and duration of a person’s ties to Australia
- The best interests of minor children in Australia
- The expectations of the Australian community
While Direction 99 said the government would “generally” afford a higher level of tolerance of criminal behaviour to non-citizens who have lived in Australia for most of their life, the new direction only states it “may” provide tolerance.
How has the Opposition reacted?
“But this new Direction 110 doesn’t give much-changed circumstances at all and it will still give rise to the sort of outcomes that we’ve seen in allowing these people to stay in our community.”
How has New Zealand reacted?
Direction 110 backtracks on immigration rules made in response to New Zealand lobbying around the deportation of people with criminal histories who could not become Australian citizens due to being born in New Zealand, but had spent most of their life in Australia.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said his government would be monitoring how the rule change is implemented. Source: AAP / Ben Mckay
In response to Friday’s announcement, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Australia was “well within its rights as a sovereign state to make its own rules”.
“We will be monitoring how this change is implemented and expect the Australian Government to live up to its commitment to a ‘common sense’ approach to deportations.”
Source Agencies
