Mark Dreyfus has been told to apologise to a female reporter after he erupted following a question about Labor’s response to a bombshell High Court ruling.
The Attorney-General blew up at Sky News journalist Olivia Caisley after she asked whether the public were owed an apology, calling the query “absurd” as he shouted at her to not interrupt him.
In the wake of the fiery exchange Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley called on the Attorney-General to apologise for shouting down “legitimate questions from a capable and effective young woman in the Press Gallery.”
“It’s behaviour that is disgraceful. It is not acceptable. It shouldn’t happen, particularly as the first law officer of this land should not be shouting, raising his voice and speaking in such a derogatory tone” Ms Ley said.
Ms Caisley, a Sky News political correspondent, said her question evidently “got under the skin” of Mr Dreyfus.
She later said: “The Albanese government are under intense pressure over this High Court decision that’s seen the release of more than 140 individuals, including convicted criminals released into the community.
“This political firestorm has intensified over the weekend.”
The saga erupted after the High Court last month found holding non-citizens in indefinite detention was unlawful.
It resulted in the release of almost 150 immigration detainees, including a number who have been convicted of violent crimes into the community.
Three have since been arrested and face fresh charges.
On the defensive and seeking to pile pressure on the Coalition to support tough new laws to give the courts powers to re-detain the worst offenders, the Attorney-General lost his cool.
The exchange began Ms Caisley asked whether the government should say sorry for the release of a cohort of foreigners previously in immigration detention.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil declined to apologise, insisting their release could not be blamed on the government, before Mr Dreyfus stepped in.
“You are asking a cabinet minister, three ministers of the Crown, to apologise for upholding the law of Australia … for following the instructions of the High Court of Australia” he said forcibly.
But when the journalist in question tried to interject, he snapped.
“Do not interrupt,” a visibly frustrated Attorney-General told the journalist as he aggressively pointed his finger at her.
“I will not be apologising for acting in accordance with a High Court decision. Your question is an absurd one!”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has signalled Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus may look back at the exchange with regret.
“We’ve seen in this place at times people behave in ways in which perhaps in hindsight they might think was unwise,” she told the Senate on Wednesday afternoon.
The heated press conference is the first Mr Dreyfus, Ms O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have held since the government unveiled the second tranche of laws to respond to the NZYQ ruling.
The government is hoping the legislation, which passed the Senate on Tuesday evening, will pass through the House on Wednesday at the end of a condolence motion for former Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died this week.
But the three ministers again refused to answer questions on how many of those released would fall under the new laws.
“I could only pre-empt that if I was not taking seriously my responsibility to get the best outcomes for community safety,” Mr Giles said.
“And as the Attorney said and as the Minister for Home Affairs said – we are a government that abides by the law.”
“We are working through that at the moment,” Mr Giles said.
Mr Giles confirmed the government had already begun work on applications to the court to put the high-risk offenders back behind bars.
The Australian Federal Police briefed state leaders, who were in Canberra for national cabinet, about the impact of the decision on Wednesday morning.
The parliament will also vote on a proposal that would grant judges the power to strip dual citizens convicted of serious crimes of their Australian citizenship.
Mr Dreyfus said the laws struck the right balance and amendments put forward by the opposition would open it up to legal challenges.
“The government believes it has got the balance right – ensuring that we have the toughest possible laws within the constitutional limits set by the High Court,” he said.
The Australian Border Force said in a statement two non-citizens – one in NSW and one in South Australia – had been charged after being released as a result of the recent High Court decision.
On Tuesday afternoon, it emerged that a 33-year-old man was arrested in Dandenong for breaching his reporting requirements and allegedly contacting minors. It’s understood the recently charged man is a registered sex offender.
Earlier, Ms O’Neil said calls for her to resign were “absolutely absurd” and argued that the government had rolled out a significant police response.
“While they’ve (Coalition) been in meetings dreaming up ways they can say different things about me and Andrew Giles and other people in the government, we’ve been focused on doing the work,” she fired back.