Wednesday, 29 November 2023

Immigration detention

Michael O’BRIEN (Malvern) (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Police. Following the High Court’s decision in the NZYQ matter, 141 immigration detainees have been released into the Australian community. Noting the –

Members interjecting.

Michael O’BRIEN: Speaker, it is a serious matter.

The SPEAKER: Member for Malvern, I would ask you not to screech at me, thank you. Members will come to order.

Michael O’BRIEN: Noting the Attorney-General’s answer yesterday that this is a matter for the Minister for Police, I ask the minister: how many of these 141 individuals are now free in Victoria?

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:29): I notice that the member for Berwick seems to still be in witness protection. He has not been allowed to ask the police minister one question in 18 months. He has not asked me one question –

Brad Battin interjected.

The SPEAKER: The member for Berwick will come to order.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is an important question about community safety, and I would ask you to ask the Minister for Police to provide that advice to the house and Victorians.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Minister for Police to respond to the question that was asked.

Anthony CARBINES: Can I say also that not only is the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police in constant engagement with both the Australian Border Force and the Australian Federal Police, they are our partners and lead agencies in relation to these matters. They will continue to do that work and give them every support in these matters. I thank the honourable member for Malvern for his question. These are matters that are very much in the purview of the law enforcement agencies of the federal government, and they have every support from Victoria Police, as they always do, and support –

Michael O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, we asked the Minister for Police because he is responsible for Victoria Police. It is not for the minister to duckshove responsibility –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Malvern, there is no point of order. The minister has concluded his answer.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I have ruled on the point of order.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, standing order 58 does require the minister to be direct. He is not being direct in answering the question in relation to how many of the 141 people have been released into Victoria. How many?

The SPEAKER: The minister has concluded his response.

Michael O’BRIEN (Malvern) (14:31): According to the federal Department of Home Affairs, 21 released immigration detainees have character concerns relating to ‘national security, cybercrime, serious and high profile organised’ gang membership, while a further 27 have concerns relating to ‘crimes against children … domestic violence’ or ‘violent, sexual or exploitative offences against women’. Minister, what specific action is Victoria Police taking to monitor the movements of these dangerous individuals who are in Victoria?

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Racing) (14:32): The federal Department of Home Affairs, as the honourable member for Malvern has mentioned, is certainly not in the jurisdiction or the purview of anyone in this place. I make it very clear that the chief commissioner, in the operational matters that he is engaged with at Victoria Police, is in very regular engagement –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, this question specifically asked the Minister for Police what actions were being taken by police to monitor the movements of these dangerous individuals, and in two questions the minister has failed to answer any of them.

The SPEAKER: The minister is being relevant to the question that was asked.

Anthony CARBINES: Section 10 of the Victoria Police Act 2013 makes it very clear about my rights and responsibilities as the Minister for Police and the obligations of the chief commissioner when it comes to operational matters.

Michael O’BRIEN: On a point of order, Speaker, yesterday in the other place the Attorney-General said the information could only be provided by the Minister for Police. That is why the question is being directed to him, and I ask you to bring him back to answering the question, which was not about directing Victoria Police, it was about informing the house about the actions of Victoria Police.

The SPEAKER: Order! I cannot direct the minister how to answer a question. The minister was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Anthony CARBINES: I can again assure the house that the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police is engaging with every resource that is being brought to bear by Victoria Police in its partnership and engagement with Australian Border Force and with Australian Federal Police. That work continues each and every day, and everyone can be assured of that work. I commend the leadership of the chief commissioner in these matters.