The major parties have been accused of “stitching up” a deal to transform Nauru into Australia’s “dumping ground and penal colony” as parliament passed laws stripping basic legal rights from a group of noncitizens set to be deported.
The home affairs legislation passed the Senate on Thursday, after a snap three-hour parliamentary hearing the night before.
The bill amends the Migration Act “to provide that the rules of natural justice do not apply” for noncitizens on a removal pathway and validates government visa decisions – made before the high court’s NZYQ ruling in November 2023 – that could subsequently have been deemed unlawful.