The government’s deal with Nauru to take in people released from indefinite immigration detention has been upheld by the High Court.
An Iranian man challenged the law after learning there had been a decision to remove him to Nauru, with his lawyers arguing he had been denied procedural fairness.
The High Court considered the lawfulness of the government entering into the arrangement with Nauru, and the constitutional validity of the plan to remove the man under an interim agreement, having regard to his severe asthma.
His lawyers had argued his removal was not practicable because medical facilities on Nauru were claimed to be inadequate.
But, before the High Court could hear the original case, the parliament changed the law to cut out procedural fairness in agreements with a third country to take non-citizens.
The High Court found the change in the law resolved most issues.
It also rejected the submissions about the man’s health, finding there was nothing unconstitutional about the decision.
In February last year, the man learned he had been identified for removal to Nauru. (Getty Images: mtcurado)
Nauru to receive millions in deal
The Iranian man had come to Australia in 1990.
In 1999, he was jailed for 22 years for murdering his wife.
After his release from prison, he was placed in indefinite immigration detention, only to be released after the critical High Court decision in NZYQ.
In that decision, the High Court found indefinite immigration detention was not legal in circumstances where there was no prospect of removal in the foreseeable future.
More than 350 people have been released since the decision.
The government then began negotiations with Nauru to take in members of the group, with eight people sent to the island nation so far.
The man was one of the first three people who learned they had been identified for removal to Nauru in February last year, with the government securing a visa for him without his knowledge.
Under the new deal, Nauru was to receive an initial payment of $408 million when the first detainee arrived on the island.
Another $70 million per year was to follow, depending on how many of the group were taken in by Nauru.
The total cost could be as high as $2.5 billion.
