The government's new deportation legislation is both radical and at the same time addresses two issues that have been around for at least 30 years. But is it good law and why the urgency?

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Australian governments have long been frustrated by people subject to deportation or removal not co-operating in their removal. They simply refuse to sign applications for a passport, transit visas, etc that would enable them to be taken out of Australia.

That has been compounded by some governments, notably Iran, refusing to take back their own nationals if they did not wish to return voluntarily.

The legislation is being rushed by the Labor government for three reasons.

First, it knows the visa monitoring conditions legislation that forces released detainees to wear ankle monitors, etc, that was introduced after last year's High Court decision on indefinite immigration detention is most likely unconstitutional.

That became the case because the Coalition forced Labor to make the monitoring conditions virtually mandatory. But the fault for that will always go back to the government for agreeing to those changes.

Second, the Labor government knows that the preventative detention........

© Canberra Times