Murderer among former detainees to be shifted to Nauru

Violent non-citizen criminals released into the Australian community through the landmark NZYQ High Court case will be transferred to Nauru after the Albanese government struck a deal with the small island nation.

About 130 people in immigration detention – who had broken laws and failed the character test but could not be resettled in their home nation – were released into the community in November 2023 after the nation’s top court determined they could not be held indefinitely.

Labor has since been searching for a solution to resettle the group, as the Coalition heavily criticised the government’s preparedness to manage the safety risk posed by the ex-detainees.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced on Sunday that Nauru, an island in the Pacific north-east of Australia, had approached Australia to take three violent criminal members of the cohort, including one who was a convicted murderer.

“Nauru have described these three visas as the first three, and that’s how it should be seen,” Burke told reporters in Canberra, indicating Nauru could take more. “I am very grateful to the government of Nauru.

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“They will be put on a plane and sent to Nauru as soon as arrangements are able to be made.

“All three are people who have failed the character test. There are many good people who want to come to Australia who don’t get visas. When someone has come and treated Australians in a way that shows appalling character, their visas do get cancelled.”

Labor passed emergency laws in late 2023 to put strict conditions on the released group. Australian Border Force officials revealed last year that at least two murderers or attempted murderers and 26 sex offenders released were required to wear an electronic ankle monitor or observe a curfew.