Convicted terrorists could soon be stripped of their citizenship under sweeping new changes to be introduced to Parliament.
It’s just one of the many issues high on the government’s agenda as the national Parliament meets for its last sitting of the year.
The proposed changes to citizenship laws will enable the High Court to strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they’re convicted of terror-related crimes.
It comes after the same court overturned a key plank of Australia’s immigration regime earlier this month.
The change meant previous powers allowing a minister to deprive a person’s citizenship after being convicted of a terror offence were no longer valid.
The decision sparked a scramble to deal with the release of what’s now 83 detainees, including three murderers, several sexual offenders and an alleged hitman from Malaysia.
The new proposal will instead hand over the power to take away citizenship from convicted terrorist to high court judges, keeping the punishment in the hands of the judiciary.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil will put forward the new legislation next week in an effort to fix the ‘broken’ laws.
She said she was hopeful the move would replace current regulations with laws that were ‘tough and constitutionally sound’.
According to a Home Affairs spokesperson the new “watertight” laws were formed with the input of constitutional legal experts.
It’s expected the legislation, to be tabled on Monday, will pass through parliament with the Coalition’s support.
