People convicted of terrorism offences could be kept in immigration detention centres indefinitely if they have been stripped of their Australian citizenship and other countries will not take them, Scott Morrison has warned.
The Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced proposed changes to the nation’s anti-terror legislation on Thursday, arguing all people convicted of terrorist offences should face the prospect of having their rights as Australian citizens revoked.
The Home Affairs Minister would only have to be “reasonably satisfied” a convicted terrorist had citizenship of another country to revoke their Australian citizenship.
The plan has faced criticism from lawyers who have described it as heavy handed.
“If we have a reasonable view that someone has citizenship, it may be by descent or they may have been born somewhere else, then we will be able to strip them of their Australian citizenship and we’ll be able to have them deported back to the country from which they do have a citizenship,” Mr Morrison told the Seven Network.
“If they’re in a position not to be deported, well, they’ll remain in immigration detention.
“The point is, we’re not going to cop people who act contrary to what their citizenship has granted them — and that is the freedom and the liberties that goes with that responsibility.”
The Prime Minister insisted other countries would have to accept such people, despite concerns foreign governments would not be prepared to take convicted terrorists.
“Well if they’re a citizen of that country they have to take them back,” he said.
“If they were born in the UK for example and they’re a citizen by descent, they’re a citizen.
“That’s what we know to be the case, and off they’ll go.”
We’re up for sensible debate, argues Shorten
The Federal Opposition is holding back on voicing support for the legislation, as Labor leader Bill Shorten argues he has always been willing to help the Coalition on matters of national security.
“We have seen national security laws proposed by Tony Abbott, by Malcolm Turnbull, by Scott Morrison,” Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.
“What we want to look at is are the laws going to keep Australians safe? Are the laws going to work?
“If we tick those boxes, if we make sure they are effective, they keep Australians safe, then we will be up for the sensible debate.”
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the changes were worth pursuing.
“We’re very happy to work with government on anything that we think will make Australians safer, and as we’ve said before we should never ‘set and forget’ our laws when it comes to counter-terrorism,” he told the ABC’s AM program.
“The new laws that the Prime Minister has announced yesterday are obviously yet to go to the Parliament, we’ll work with the Government and the crossbench and the Opposition on those laws.”
