Nat Barr has confronted the home affairs minister over Andrew Giles’ latest ministerial decision that has seen several violent rapists allowed to stay in the country.
The Sunrise host was left stunned on Wednesday morning when Clare O’Neil defended the Immigration Minister despite calls mounting for him to be sacked.
Several criminal migrants, including a Sudanese man who self-identified as Aboriginal, have been allowed to stay in under his Direction 99, which was issued early last year.
The direction requires the immigration minister or a body, including the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, to consider an individual’s community ties when considering to revoke the cancellation of a convicted criminal’s visa.
The decision means that greater tolerance is showed to immigrants who have committed serious crimes if they’ve ‘lived in the n community for most of their life, or from a very young age’.
Ms O’Neil argued the decision was made by the AAT and that Mr Giles had ‘stepped in at the right time’ to try and resolve the issue and re-cancel the visas of violent offenders.
Barr was left visibly shocked by the statement and questioned how rapists could be allowed to stay in the first place.
‘He stepped in at the right moment. A lot of people would dispute that. He put in this direction, this ministerial direction last January. Then people raped children,’ Barr said.
‘They then used the laws, this direction that was put in by your Government and argued that they had ties to this country, their families needed them and their families love them.
‘They used that direction to stay in this country. So do you think it’s maybe too late that Andrew Giles is acting now?’
Ms O’Neil said Mr Giles was now stepping in and was seeking to consider if those visas can be cancelled, adding he was a ‘good minister’.
But Barr pointed out that it was Mr Giles who told the tribunal to follow the order.
Ms O’Neil again put the blame onto the AAT, saying the decisions made were ‘very disconcerting’.
‘Minister Giles will now have the opportunity to review some of those decisions. As I understand it, some of those visas has been cancelled as a result of him stepping in and recalling those decisions,’ she said.
But Barr wasn’t ready to back down and listed some of the abhorrent crimes of those who have had their cancelled visas revoked.
‘One raped a 14-year-old stepdaughter while his wife gave birth. One raped the sister of the mother of his infant child. One raped a disabled 14-year-old and a 16-year-old,’ she said.
‘One raped a child between the age of 10 and 14 and one raped eight times, 48 counts of sexual assault on 25 women and a teen.
‘The judge said he had no remorse. That’s what we’re dealing with and you’re still arguing support for the minister. Do you think that washes?’
The home affairs minister labelled the crimes as ‘absolutely horrendous’ and said Mr Giles was reviewing about 30 visa cancellations at the moment.
She again referred the decision back to the tribunal and said Mr Giles was now stepping in.
‘I say to you again, the decisions made by the AAT here in my view, at first blush do not meet any community standards that I’m aware of,’ Ms O’Neil said.
Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume, who was also on the breakfast program on Wednesday, interrupted to say the tribunal was only acting off the direction they’d been given by the government.
‘The urgent matter is to get a new Immigration Minister because quite frankly this one has failed the n people,’ she said.
‘Anthony Albanese needs to sack Minister Giles. He needs to do it today. He you need to repeal and revoke Direction 99 today.’
Direction 99, issued by Mr Giles in January 2023, asks the AAT to make ‘ties to ‘ a primary concern during visa determinations.
Since then, 35 offenders have had their AAT findings overturned and have been allowed to remain in .