Border Force commissioner clashes with senator over immigration decisions

Fronting a hearing on Wednesday, Michael Outram pushed back on a line of questioning from James Paterson, the opposition's spokesperson on Home Affairs, over the management of former NZYQ detainees.

The questions related to a suite of surveillance measures passed through Parliament in November 2023, as part of the government's bid to respond to the release of dozens of immigration detainees.

The cohort of 153 people - most of whom had previously been convicted of crimes - were held indefinitely in detention, until a High Court ruling found this treatment to be unlawful.

The Community Protection Board, which is chaired by the commissioner, takes decisions on the cohort and what visa conditions they can be subject to.

Mr Outram told Senator Paterson that 77 of the NZYQ cohort people were subject to electronic monitoring and 68 to a specified curfew.

Of the seven who had previously been convicted of murder or attempted murder, less than five were being electronically monitored, officials said, sparking incredulity from Senator Paterson.

"What factors would be sufficiently serious to allow a convicted murderer to not be monitored? What possible reason [could there be]?" Senator Paterson asked.

Mr Outram said it was "not a simple exercise" for decision makers in the agency, who considered a wide range of factors, inclusive of offences committed, and the likelihood of reoffending.

Questioned further on how detainees once convicted of murder could escape electronic surveillance, the Border Force Commissioner pushed back.

"We risk Senator ... putting the decision makers under such external pressure and scrutiny that they'll be unable to make decisions," Mr Outram said.

"They have to be able to make decisions, within the parameters of the law, independently.

"Now if you're saying to me that every decision they make needs to be subject to public scrutiny, we can have a straw poll, see where people agree with it or not.

"Are you seriously suggesting that? I worry about the decision makers, the integrity of the decision makers here and their ability to make decisions independently."

Mr Outram promptly apologised after being pulled up for posing a question to the senator, while Senator Paterson hit back, claiming the Prime Minister had brought intense scrutiny down on the agency.

"No public figure has subjected the Community Protection Board to greater criticism than the Prime Minister of Australia, who held them up for being responsible for these decisions, said that they were in fact decision makers and that they were independent, when neither of those things were true and has been contradicted by both of his ministers," the Senator said.

"So you're seriously telling me that my request for information is a more serious attack on these public servants doing this job than the Prime Minister of Australia throwing them under the bus?"

Mr Outram clarified that he did not suggest the Senator was "attacking" and affirmed that his question had been legitimate.

It comes a day after Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster admitted her department had failed to notify Immigration Minister Andrew Giles of "a number of cases" in which the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned departmental decisions to cancel visas.

The admission related to another element of the government's immigration policy, known as "ministerial direction 99".

The direction from Minister Giles in January 2023 required public servants deciding on the cancellation of visas to give primary consideration to the strength, nature and duration of the person's ties to Australia.

It has meant that some non-citizens who have had their visas cancelled have been able to overturn the decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, including some cases in which people have previously commited serious offences.

Backlash from the opposition on Wednesday forced the government to announce it would revise the direction.