The Assistant Immigration Minister, Michaelia Cash, refused a request by the Senate to provide documents relating to Operation Sovereign Borders. She claimed a “public interest immunity” because releasing the information might undermine the Government’s attempts to stop asylum-seekers reaching Australia. The Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee was asked to consider the issue. Its report recommended that, to prevent the executive avoiding reasonable scrutiny by the legislature, the Senate should look at “changes to the way immunity claims were considered”. In particular, it suggested adopting “the New South Wales Legislative Council’s model of independent arbitration for determining public-interest disputes”.
A podcast about law and legal issues