‘Conditions are inherently punitive’: Ex-detainee challenges new GPS tracker laws in High Court

Convicted criminals freed from immigration detention after a shock High Court judgment are already challenging the emergency laws imposed on them to keep the community safe with one former detainee claiming the conditions amount to “punishment”. More than 100 detainees have already been released from immigration detention this month with the Federal Government rushing through emergency legislation last week to impose curfews and GPS ankle trackers on the freed group - some of whom are convicted rapists, murderers and sex offenders. The High Court challenge was launched by a Chinese refugee known as S151 on Wednesday, who argued they impose “conditions that are inherently punitive in nature”, which exceeded Parliament’s authority. The challenge comes after chaos reigned yesterday when The West Australian questioned who was in charge of tracking the group following revelations at least four child sex offenders were roaming the streets of WA. Key agencies in charge of community protection refused to answer when and how the four paedophiles would be tracked via GPS as Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil admitted she had no clue whether they had been fitted with ankle bracelets. After a day of being handballed from one authority to the next, The West confirmed Australian Border Force was in charge of monitoring 111 serious offenders released from immigration detention centres. The ABF, AFP, Home Affairs and WA Police redirected a series of questions on tracking responsibility between each other on Wednesday before the ABF finally confirmed it was in charge but was working to outsource the monitoring. It comes as documents lawyers for S151 argued the emergency laws were too punitive. Lawyer David Manne, executive director of Refugee Legal, previously said he was preparing to challenge the laws. “(Curfews) are typical of criminals sentenced under house arrest conditions, not of administrative visa regulations imposed by the Executive,” lawyers for S151 argued. “The condition mandating that the plaintiff must wear an ankle bracelet for electronic tracking at all times is similarly punitive. This measure is commonly associated with the monitoring of convicted offenders under sentence, not visa holders. “It represents a significant and continuous invasion of the plaintiff’s liberty, privacy and autonomy.” Arriving in Australia in September 2001 on a student visa, S151 moved to an employer-nominated permit. But in 2017, S151’s visa was canceled under the Migration Act relating to a prison sentence. “On 20 September 2022, the plaintiff was released from prison and taken into commonwealth immigration detention,” the application stated. In October last year, S151 applied for a permanent protection visa, which was rejected in June. S151 was released on November 11 as a result of the High Court’s decision, but was told of his new conditions on November 19. More than 110 criminals have been freed across Australia after the High Court ruled that keeping them in indefinite detention was illegal. The Federal Government and the Opposition teamed up last week to rush emergency legislation through Parliament to put strict monitoring requirements on the newly released cohort. Those laws included fitting former detainees with ankle monitors, imposing curfews and stints in jail for any breaches. The rollout of the new conditions has come under sustained fire, with Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil admitting on Wednesday she had no clue whether ex-detainees had been fitted with ankle bracelets.