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May 28, 2024
The Coalition has pledged to cancel the student visas of protesters who spout antisemitism if elected to government, but an opposition frontbencher say the same approach won't be taken in regards to Islamophobia.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said if elected next year the Coalition would use section 116 of the Migration Act to cancel the visas of student protesters "found to be involved in spreading anti-Semitism or supporting terrorism".
Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson told ABC Canberra radio on Tuesday that there "is no issue with Islamophobia" on Australian university campuses, therefore the Coalition did not plan to cancel visas to protect Muslim students from abuse.
Asked if the opposition was "proposing identical action to students who might commit acts of Islamophobia", she replied: "No, we're not ... because, frankly, there is no issue with Islamophobia."
It comes as the pro-Palestine encampment at the Australian National University - where protesters have been accused of anti-Semitic taunts and making a Hitler gesture - continues at an approved location on campus.
Senator Henderson said the ANU was "causing chaos" by allowing the encampment to continue.
An ANU spokesperson said there were four disciplinary cases being investigated by the university, relating to the protests.
It is believed that one of them is a student who appeared to mimic Hitler and his moustache in the Zoom annual general meeting of the ANU Students' Association.
It is understood that this student is an Indonesian national.
The ANU has "recommended to protesters" to be "mindful of the harm and the hurt" that Jewish members of the campus community experience when protesters use the chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".
Many Jewish people find the chant to be anti-Semitic as it implies that the state of Israel will no longer exist.
The Migration Act already empowers the Immigration Minister to cancel a person's visa if the person poses "a risk to the health, safety or good order of individuals or the Australian community" under Section 116, or on character grounds including if there is risk they will vilify or pose a danger to a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord.
Senator Paterson said that, since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, "we have seen multiple instances of anti-Semitic rhetoric and sympathy expressed for listed terrorist organisations including Hamas on campus."
"And yet there is no evidence the Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have cancelled a single student visa under the significant powers available under the Migration Act," he said.
Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said Australia "respects the democratic right to protest and free speech, but we will not tolerate racism, anti-Semitism, or the public support for a terrorist organisation like Hamas that still holds Israeli citizens as hostages and was responsible for grotesque atrocities against the Israeli people."
Senator Henderson said the Albanese government had "failed to combat anti-Semitic hate and vilification on campus".
"In the face of an alarming rise of anti-Semitic protests and encampments, the Coalition will do whatever is necessary to shut down anti-Semitism at educational institutions," Senator Henderson said.
A government spokesperson said in statement: "Every visa holder in Australia has to abide by our migration laws. If the Department of Home Affairs has grounds to cancel your visa, they will do so."
