Immigrant Detention

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:38): My questions are to the Attorney-General regarding the release of detainees involved in the Australian High Court decision NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs:

1. Can the Attorney outline which agencies are still involved in the monitoring of these released detainees and/or providing services related to them?

2. How much are any of these services costing the South Australian government on a recurrent basis?

3. Can the Attorney-General, as our chief law officer, assure our community that all is being done to ensure community safety?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for her question. As I have outlined before, SAPOL have affirmed that they are liaising with the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force to monitor released detainees. As of 22 January 2024, the advice I have is there were six detainees residing in South Australia. The agency that has primary responsibility in terms of the safety of the South Australian community is SAPOL, who have said they have the tools that they need to do that.

In terms of the cost of any services, I think it would be almost impossible to try to ascertain what particular services each single individual of these six, let alone any other individuals, accesses on a daily basis from the state government, whether it be using public roads, subsidised public transport or the health system. It would be exceptionally difficult to ascertain the exact dollar amount per day, per week or per year that an individual has in terms of the whole range of things that government provides to people in this state.