Australian Border Force illegally detained two Australian citizens and sent them to Christmas Island in an episode reminiscent of the Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon cases of more than a decade ago.
Guardian Australia understands the two men are New Zealand-born but hold dual Australian citizenship.
The government detained the men under section 501 of the Migration Act, which allows for detention and deportation if the minister or a delegate judges that a person who is not a citizen fails the “character test”, usually because he or she has committed a criminal offence. When the error was realised the men were released from detention.
Not mentioned: how long it took the ABF to realise their mistake, and whether there will be an apology and compensation. Also not mentioned: whether anyone in ABF will be held accountable for what is essentially an illegal kidnapping. Because this sort of shit is simply not acceptable, and if ABF staff are allowed to get away with it, then it will just keep on happening.