Labor ministers Andrew Giles and Clare O’Neil. A taskforce to explore third country options to resettle detainees was succeeded by border force’s Operation Zufolo.Labor ministers Andrew Giles and Clare O’Neil. A taskforce to explore third country options to resettle detainees was succeeded by border force’s Operation Zufolo.The federal government set out to show it was trying to deport non-citizens, knowing there was a risk a key high court ruling could be overturned.
A departmental spokesperson confirmed to Guardian Australia that in May 2022 it established “a third country options taskforce to enhance efforts to address removal barriers for long-term detention cases, particular for those individuals that could not be removed to their home country”. In its July 2022 submission to the immigration minister, the department told Giles it was “highly unlikely” a person would be accepted without “at least significant ties” to the proposed third country.
“The department and ABF actively explore all avenues to remove unlawful non-citizens from Australia as soon as reasonably practicable” including “genuine efforts to address barriers to removal in all cases, including exploring third country options”, a departmental spokesperson said.
Because Sami was refusing to cooperate with Egyptian authorities to obtain a travel document, authorities considered his detention “three-walled”, meaning he could end it at any time by returning to Egypt.there was “no real likelihood” of Sami being removed, a finding that prepared him to go to the high court to challenge Al Kateb.