Australian court rules against tracking bracelets for migrants, in blow to government
The court found that these restrictions amounted to punishment, which can only be imposed by judges, not lawmakers
Australia’s highest court ruled on Wednesday that migrants can’t be forced by law to wear electronic tracking bracelets or to comply with curfews.
The ruling is a blow to the government, whose lawyers have unsuccessfully argued that laws imposing curfews and tracking technology are justified to protect the community.
Five of the seven High Court judges ruled that the tough restrictions placed on more than 100 migrants, usually because of their criminal records, were unconstitutional because the conditions amounted to punishment. The constitution states that punishment must be imposed by judges, not lawmakers.
The restrictions were part of emergency laws hastily passed in December in response to another High Court ruling that non-citizens could no longer be detained indefinitely as an alternative to deportation. That ruling in the case of a stateless Rohingya man reversed a 28-year-old High Court precedent that allowed indefinite detention where there were security concerns.
Wednesday’s ruling means the government can no longer electronically track the more than 200 non-citizens with criminal records who were released and, for a variety of reasons, couldn’t be deported.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he would introduce legislation to Parliament on Thursday that “will allow for an adjusted process for electronic monitoring devices and curfews to be used.” He did not detail those adjustments.
“The court’s decision is not the one the government wanted – but it is one the government has prepared for,” Burke said in a statement.
