Australia PM replaces immigration, national security ministers

CANBERRA

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday replaced the government ministers responsible for immigration and national security, overhauling the scandal-plagued portfolios.

Australia's Department of Home Affairs has been under pressure since it was forced to release more than 100 immigration detainees, many convicted of assault, kidnapping and murder, in the wake of a landmark court ruling.

Albanese has sought to draw a line under the politically damaging saga, dumping Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and moving them into new portfolios.

Both roles were taken over by veteran government problem solver Tony Burke.

Some of the detainees were charged with further crimes after they were released, stoking a barrage of bad publicity for the center-left Labor government.

Officials scrambled to fit the cohort with ankle monitoring bracelets while imposing other strict conditions such as curfews.

Under the old policy, migrants could be detained indefinitely if Australia refused them a visa but could not legally deport them elsewhere, for example, if they faced the death penalty in their home country.

With nowhere to go and no hope of release, many languished inside spartan Australian detention centers for years.

But a High Court ruling in November found this was "unlawful," overturning a 20-year-old bipartisan policy and forcing the release of almost 150 people.

Of those freed, more than 70 had been refused visas after racking up convictions for assault and other violent crimes, while seven had been convicted of murder or attempted murder.