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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Paul Karp

Minister rebuked for saying letters telling asylum seekers to leave Australia were sent ‘accidentally’

The home affairs minister Clare O'Neil
The home affairs minister Clare O'Neil says letters telling asylum seekers to leave Australia were ‘sent out in error’ by her department. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The Coalition and Greens have rebuked the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, for claiming that letters to asylum seekers telling them to get out of Australia were sent “accidentally”.

According to the ABC, which first revealed the correspondence sent in September and October to at least 490 people, O’Neil wrote to a constituent that the letters were sent “in error” – a claim disputed by her own department.

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