Seven sent packing: Minister invokes rule of self-preservation to calm visa storm
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has cancelled the visas of seven foreigners as he races to fix a deportation mess.
Mr Giles has been under increasing pressure amid growing opposition calls for his sacking.
He is considering trying to deport about 30 people after an appeals tribunal allowed them to stay in Australia on the grounds of a directive he himself had signed off on.
Under Direction 99, Australia will āgenerally afford a higher level of toleranceā to non-citizens based on the length of their time spent in the country.
Mr Giles told ABCās AM he had cancelled seven visas in the past few days.
Asked why he still had a job, he replied: āThereās so much work to do to clean up the mess, to rebuild the migration system that was left in tatters.ā
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Mr Giles said he would release the new ministerial directive for public scrutiny āas soon as its readyā.
āWe believe these decisions need to be guided by two clear principles: the protection of the Australian community and by common sense,ā he said.
āWe want to strengthen the role of victims and the impact of them and their family members in consideration because thatās something we feel has been lacking, as well as, of course, ensuring the family violence consideration are consistent with the expectations of government and the wider Australian community.ā
Earlier this week, Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster admitted her department breached protocol by failing to brief Mr Giles about legal decisions to allow foreign criminals to remain in the country.
A New Zealand man, known as CHCY, was allowed to keep his visa by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal despite being found guilty of raping his step-daughter.
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