Another legal debacle like Haneef possible: Attorney-General

MELBOURNE: Australian Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has not ruled out the possibility that the country could have another legal debacle like the case of Mohammed Haneef.

The Indian doctor was arrested and charged in July with providing support to a terrorist organisation after a car bomb attempt at Glasgow Airport.

He was detained for three weeks but the charges were dropped when it was discovered they could not be substantiated.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews then revoked Haneef's visa, forcing him to leave Australia.

According to a local media report on Tuesday, Ruddock squared off against opposition legal affairs spokesman Joe Ludwig on Monday in an election debate at NSW Parliament House in Sydney.

Australia's terrorism laws were one of the hot topics but Ruddock deflected questions after the debate about whether future terrorism investigations could result in suspects being treated the same as Haneef.

"The point I would make is I expect that an independent director of public prosecutions will always do his job and do it independently and properly, and that is a very significant protection," Ruddock said.

He reiterated his view that the immigration minister does not rely on criminal law but on evidence of a person's character when deciding to review the visa status of overseas visitors and workers.

"If you understand how the decisions were reached you would understand that the protections that people regard as being important were operating in this particular matter," Ruddock said.