The Administrative Appeals Tribunal applied the controversial Ministerial Direction 99 to overturn half of the government’s initial deportation orders for non-citizens on character ground since July last year. The statistic was revealed in a senate estimates hearing held on Friday afternoon by the AAT’s registrar Michael Hawkins as the governmentContinue Reading
Sweeping laws granting the government powers to jail non-citizens resisting deportation and block visa applications from specific countries should be passed, an inquiry has found in a split report. Labor tried and failed to ram through in less than two days legislation that could result in non-citizens resisting deportation beingContinue Reading
Senators holding an inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children have blasted WA Police for their failure to attend a public hearing in Perth. Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Deputy Chair Senator Paul Scarr opened proceedings on Wednesday morning by outlining numerous attempts to haveContinue Reading
Two opposing Voice to Parliament advocates have squabbled over the upcoming referendum and its comparisons to a now defunct Indigenous advisory body. The row on the ABC’s Q+A program began when chief executive for activist group GetUp Larissa Baldwin-Roberts took issue with Senator Paul Scarr’s comparisons between the Voice andContinue Reading
Radio personality Ben Fordham, a vocal sceptic of the Voice to parliament, has indulged in a scathing on-air critique outlining the Prime Minister’s “three biggest mistakes” on the proposed constitutional change. Fordham unpacked Anthony Albanese’s perceived follies on Friday morning as the PM himself heads to Arnhem Land for theContinue Reading
Sexual abuse campaigner Chanel Contos said Australia has “essentially decriminalised rape” due to the amount of cases that slipping through the country’s legal systems, and urged leaders to focus on the damaging effects of pornography. Ms Contos, currently in the United Kingdom, made her remarks to a senate committee analysingContinue Reading
The Voice to parliament referendum might still be months away, but both the “yes” and “no” camps are hopeful the release of their official essays on Tuesday will steer Australians towards their side. Both committees – made up of politicians – had until midnight on Monday to submit their 2000Continue Reading
A parliamentary hearing has been suspended after bickering senators descended into a row over a powerful union’s links to the federal government. Labor senator Nita Green halted the senate estimates hearing she was chairing on Tuesday morning after Liberal senator Paul Scarr accused her of running interference for the ConstructionContinue Reading