Government ‘genuinely caught flatfooted’ by High Court decision

Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece says it appears the government was “genuinely caught flatfooted” by the High Court’s ruling on indefinite detention.

“Because it flew in the face of twenty years of legal precedent,” Mr Reece said.

The Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor said both Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles and Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil are “two of the most talented people in government”.

Mr Giles is an “absolute expert in that area”, Mr Reece said.

“He has been debating that policy field for decades.

“In a matter of days, they’ve managed to cobble together a response package … it looked pretty messy, but obviously making laws is often like that.

“But by the end of the week, I think they had a sensible strong set of arrangements in place, and I think the government will be hoping they can now move forward.”