‘Get tough’: Labor blasted over released crims

Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has confronted a senior Labor minister over revelations dozens of criminals released under a high court ruling were not required to wear electronic ankle monitors.

Documents emerged on Monday showing that 18 former immigration detainees released after last year’s landmark NZYQ High Court ruling have been charged with criminal offences, with more than half convicted of assault and violent crimes.

It was later revealed the government did not re-detain any convicted individuals, despite passing preventative detention laws last year, and about 40 of 140 former detainees were not required to wear ankle bracelets.

In a standoff with Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy on Tuesday, Senator Lambie demanded the government get a handle on the issue before someone “gets really, seriously hurt.”.

“If the Labor Party thinks that they’re worrying about the concerns of its citizens – I do not believe a word that is being said, because this is not concerning the safety of Australians,” she told Today.

“And I’ll tell you what, maybe it’s about time you [Labor] went back and wrote a decent bill where we have a choice of who comes here, who stays here and who goes.

“It is time to get tough on this.”

Among the 149 people released under last year’s ruling, there are seven convicted murderers or attempted murderers, 37 sex offenders and 72 other violent criminals, including kidnappers and armed robbers.

Government officials confirmed on Monday no preventive detention applications had been made, putting pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to answer why.

Senator McCarthy argued public safety was “absolutely” a priority for the Labor government citing a quarter of $1 billion dollars put into assisting the Australian Federal Police and border authorities.

“Why bring them here?” Senator Lambie fired back.

“Can you let me finish, Senator Lambie?,” Senator McCarthy responded.

“There is so much that has gone into the assistance of our security across the country. What happens now is that we do have a community protection board. We have people at the professional expertise level who can give advice. So come on, Senator Lambie, fair go. There is a lot of work being done on this.”

Foreshadowing a showdown during Senate Estimates next week, Senator Lambie said she intended to pressure the government to release details on who was reviewing the issue.

“You know what I’m giving you a fair go. And if you were right about the safety of Australians, every single one of them should have had a bracelet on them from day one,” she said.

Birmingham: Concern over ‘huge’ Gaza toll

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said it was “important” Israel acted with regard to international humanitarian law ahead of an expected ground assault in Southern Gaza.

It comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday demanded that Israel listen to warnings from countries around the world and minimise civilian casualties in the area.

At least 67 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air and sea attacks on Rafah overnight on Monday, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The Israeli army says it rescued two captives.

It’s understood more than half of Gaza’s population, about one million people, have fled to Rafah since the war began.

Senator Birmingham warned of the “huge” humanitarian toll of the military campaign and said the only way to a ceasefire was if Hamas released its remaining hostages.

“Ultimately, they [Israel] need to ensure that during these operations they are effectively targeting Hamas,” he told Sky News.

Malarndirri McCarthy said she “wasn’t surprised” after the Productivity Commission declared that the government’s Closing The Gap program was on the brink of failure.

The Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians spoke ahead of a speech given by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to commemorate Tuesday’s National Apology Day.

It came one week after a report delivered a scathing assessment of the government’s efforts to combat Indigenous disadvantage, declaring successive governments have repeatedly failed to “fully grasp” the complexities of Indigenous policy.

Speaking to ABC Radio National, Senator McCarthy said the findings were evidence Indigenous communities needed greater opportunities to influence decisions which impacted their lives in the wake of last year’s Voice referendum.

“In some respects it’s further affirmation that thinking of power-sharing, of enabling First Nations people to have a voice in the decisions on policies that impact them, was the right thing to do,” she said.

“But sadly we didn’t get across the line on that.”