A sad inhumane race to the bottom

They have also shown up the ALP federal government leadership team as risk averse and unwilling to take a principled stand in defence of the truth and due legal processes.

The recent High Court decision found that it was not only not only unlawful, but also unconstitutional, to hold people in indefinite detention when they were unable to be deported.

Despite Peter Dutton recently claiming the Constitution to be sacrosanct and inviolable and needy of protection, that seems suddenly not to be the case.

All of a sudden, he wants laws in place to override a decision of the highest court in the land ... and the federal Labor leadership falls over itself to go along with him.

Labor back benchers are reportedly furious that there was not stronger push back from their leadership against Dutton and his cronies as they bayed for blood.

Despite the fact that this almighty stuff up and abuse of human rights was legislated by a Coalition government 20 years ago, despite the fact that they have been in power for most of the time since, despite the fact that some of it happened on his personal ministerial watch, Dutton is baying for these detainees to be treated as if they are still in detention.

Even given all that, it seems Labor is to blame because they had not acted with sufficient cruelty in the several days after the High Court decision.

The High Court decision related to the separation of powers between the Executive (government Ministers) and the Judiciary (the courts). It found that a Minister could not impose extra-judicial penalties, such as indefinite detention.

That power, under our Constitution, is reserved to judges.

The reason for all this? Some, I repeat some, of the detainees were convicted of crimes, some very serious, and served their sentences. Ordinarily, a citizen of another country convicted of a serious crime would be deported after serving their sentence, but no country will take these people.

In the three months to March this year over 16,000 prisoners were released from Australian prisons having served their time or having been granted early release to walk our streets. Since the end of March 2018 nearly 350,000 people have been released from imprisonment, some of them having been convicted of horrendous crimes.

The vast bulk going about their daily lives without further monitoring. Only a small number who continue to be a serious risk to the community are subject to ongoing monitoring.

The decision about who is to be monitored and the level and type of monitoring are made by the courts, not politicians or bureaucrats, and are based on individual assessment of the risks of reoffending.

For those long-term detainees released last week as a result of the High Court decision there is no judicial involvement and there is no targeting the level and type of monitoring to the level of risk to the community. It looks like all are to be fitted with ankle bracelets, even though the majority reportedly did not have serious criminal convictions, if any criminal convictions at all, and probably are no risk to the community.

We live in a society built on the rule of law. I would much rather that judgements and imposition of punishments be made by the courts in a dispassionate way, even though I may disagree with them sometimes, than on the whim of a politician or senior bureaucrat.

There lies the road to dictatorship.

These decisions, just like those relating to indefinite detention, are being made by the politicians, even though the measures being implemented seem to be extra-judicial, just like indefinite detention.

It looks like the High Court decision, and hence our precious Constitution, and the human rights of the detainees are being ignored by both major political parties in a race to the bottom to see who can be the most cruel.

The High Court challenges have already started, and I suspect they will continue.