Court told files about asylum seeker boat turnbacks have been inadvertently given to Guardian Australia without all intended redactions

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Documents about asylum-seeker boat turnbacks, which the government is arguing must be kept secret for national security reasons, have been accidentally handed to Guardian Australia by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

During the hearing in which the government is attempting to block Guardian Australia’s access to the documents, solicitors representing the department said some of the details at issue had been inadvertently handed over.

Justin Davidson from the Australian Government Solicitor agency told the hearing some black lines had not been placed where they were intended, leaving details unredacted: “Regrettably when these documents were furnished to the respondent, the markings were on the second set were incomplete.”

The revelation came in the first moments of a landmark freedom of information case testing whether the Australian government can hide details of asylum seeker boat turnbacks by claiming they are a matter of national security.

The case surrounds access to government orders to executive turnback operations in 2013 and early 2014. It is part of a long-running freedom of information case initiated by Guardian Australia journalist Paul Farrell.

The department is arguing that release of the documents would threaten the country’s security.

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In an statement, the former deputy commander of the border protection command (BPC) Abigail Bradshaw said: “If Australia cannot effectively manage who can enter the country and the circumstances and conditions under which people enter then the security of the commonwealth is compromised.”

She continued: “Current operations would be compromised by the release of this information. If the details were to be released BPC would be forced to revise current operational methodology to minimise the harm caused by those disclosures.”

It is unclear what the legal status is of those documents now.

The hearing continues.