Immigration is a wickedly complex and tough portfolio so the first test is: would anyone else handle it better than the beleaguered incumbent?
Giles’ gentle presentation makes him seem hesitant in the face of the Coalition onslaught and that leans some of his colleagues towards maybe. Others argue the problem is not the minister’s competence or communication but the circumstances – the high court’s November ruling that indefinite detention was unlawful and the home affairs department’s failure to properly notify him that some of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal decisions allowing violent criminals to stay in Australia might need attention.