Albanese govt criticises Opposition’s failure to assist in new detainee legislation

Labor has criticised the Coalition’s response and failure to assist in new detainee legislation. It is after the government conceded the laws were linked to a case being brought by an Iranian man challenging his detention. Some ministers have accused the Liberals of ‘playing politics’ by siding with the Greens to delay passing laws within a 36-hour window. The Opposition has accused Labor of trying to pass legislation “on the fly”. “We took it on good faith and face value that it was urgent but wanted the Senate to interrogate whether that was indeed true,” Liberal MP Keith Wolahan told Sky News Australia. “As the thread was pulled from the Department officials, they couldn’t make the case that it was urgent, so we should never do legislation on the fly like this.”