Migration law experts say the government is unlikely to be able to deport refugees who break the law in Australia, despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison's vow to kick out an Iraqi refugee who indecently assaulted a child.
The government has stepped up its crackdown on foreign criminals, with Mr Morrison on Thursday they would be sent back if they commit a serious crime.
The prime minister was speaking after the government cancelled the protection visa of Iraqi refugee Mohammed Hassan Al Bayati, who was this week sentenced to four and a half years in jail for kidnapping and indecently assaulting a three-year-old girl in Sydney.
"Just because you’re on a protection visa, it’s a warning to anyone, we’ll cancel it and we’ll punt you," Mr Morrison told Sunrise on Thursday.
AAP
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness Director Michelle Foster said Mr Morrison's rhetoric undermined the system in place to deal with these matters.
"To preempt a decision in that way and to use extremely inflammatory and emotive language is arguably quite irresponsible," Professor Foster told SBS News.
Australia has committed to a range of international conventions designed to prevent refoulement - the forced return of refugees to countries where they face persecution and serious harm.
But the government does have the power to disregard its non-refoulement obligations if they deem a refugee to pose a danger.
Indefinite detention more likely
Nearly 4,000 foreign criminals have been kicked out of Australia since the government tightened the character test in 2014, but it's unclear how many of those were on permanent protection visas.
Sydney barrister Jason Donnelly, who has represented a North Korean person facing expulsion from Australia due to drug charges, said it was "unthinkable" that Australia would try to return someone to a country where they could face persecution or serious harm.
"He (Scott Morrison) is effectively saying we don't care or we will have no regard to the effect of what it means to be found to be a refugee, mainly that they would face a risk of harm in their country of origin such as being persecuted, potentially killed or some other kind of inhumane conduct," Mr Donnelly told SBS News.
