January 8, 2025
Australia has cancelled fewer than five visas for anti-Semitic conduct since Hamas' October 7 terror attack in 2023, new figures reveal.
The Coalition has lashed the Albanese government's response, amid an alarming surge in anti-Semitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney, after making repeated calls for anyone spewing hate speech to have their visa ripped up based on unfit character grounds.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said despite Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's tough talk on the issue, "his visa cancellation pen remains firmly in his desk".
"It's frankly not credible that as few as one or two visa holders have engaged in anti-Semitic incitement since 7 October given the shocking scenes we have seen in our cities every weekend for 15 months," Senator Paterson said.
"If Tony Burke doesn't have the stomach to make tough decisions in the national interest to protect Australians he should step aside for a Minister for Home Affairs who is."
A Home Affairs Department spokesman said less than five visa cancellations related to anti-Semitic rhetoric or conduct between October 7, 2023 and December 31, 2024.
"Of those cancelled, none of those are currently onshore in Australia," he said.
Mr Burke was contacted for comment.
Jewish groups last month demanded that Mr Burke explain why Israelis wanting to visit Australia were being required to provide details about their military services, raising concerns it was leading to delays and the rejection of visa applications.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has also questioned why an Islamic teacher, who publicly shared his heartbreak over the death of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on social media, was allowed into the country for a four-day workshop in July.