July 31, 2024
Immigration Minister Tony Burke has dismissed as ''idiotic'' opposition suggestions he would be soft on refugee claims by Palestinians, as advocates say people fleeing the Gaza conflict are struggling to eat and stay warm during the Australian winter.
Palestinian community leaders have for months demanded a permanent visa scheme and warned the visitor visa being used by about 1300 Palestinian refugees, which bars people from working or claiming welfare payments, was placing refugees in a dire situation.
They want a new visa to be considered for those leaving Gaza, similar to the one given to Afghans fleeing the Taliban after it seized power in 2021.
The Human Rights Law Centre, Refugee Council and other groups want new pathways for ongoing residence and complained the visitor visa was a bad fit because it requires Palestinians to prove they want to return to Gaza.
Many Palestinians are having visa applications rejected because they cannot demonstrate a desire to return to Gaza, and hundreds of refugees in Australia are now applying for protection visas when their three-month visitor visa expires.
''They aren't warm enough and don't have enough to eat over winter,'' said Jana Favero of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
''People are fleeing a war zone where they have been starving and forced to flee with nothing and just seen their homeland destroyed. It is horrific.'' Labor has steadily toughened its stance against the Netanyahu government's war effort, releasing a further statement last week calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying it remains committed to a two-state solution as the ''only realistic'' pathway to a lasting peace in the region.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson attacked the appointment of Burke to the home affairs and immigration portfolios, saying he would be too soft on Palestinian refugee claims.
''Burke has been one of parliament's loudest pro-Palestinian voices,'' he wrote in an opinion piece for The Australian.
''Along with his colleagues in south-western Sydney, Burke is nonetheless under intense pressure from the Muslim Votes Matter group, which rates him as weak on Gaza and is threatening to back an independent against him. ''But now we have to rely on Burke to ensure proper identity and security checks are conducted on the thousands of Gaza residents seeking to come to Australia.'' Burke said Paterson's comments were ''idiotic''.
''Can I just say what an idiotic comment from somebody who's clearly never been a minister,'' Burke told ABC Radio National yesterday.
''The issue of making sure that you deal with security checks is fundamental to the immigration program. I have never hesitated to reject visas or to cancel visas...
''If I'm going to be in a debate of misinformation where somebody just makes stuff up, then I can see why Peter Dutton chose him [Paterson].''
