Australia government seeks support on immigration detention legislation

The Australian government on Wednesday urged the opposition to support legislation that would allow authorities to lock up some former immigration detainees who were released after a landmark ruling by the country’s top court.
Australia’s High Court ruled last month that several offenders, including people serving time in jail for child sexual offences, were being unlawfully detained ,as there was no real prospect that they could be removed from Australia.
The verdict overturned an court ruling from about 20 years ago that said indefinite immigration detention was lawful as long as the government intended to remove the person from Australia eventually.
The federal government is scrambling to pass the law as the opposition coalition and government lawmakers continued to clash over the ramifications of the high court ruling.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says all parts of the bill, which is in the upper house now, had been carefully developed to withstand any constitutional challenge.