August 20, 2024
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson has hit out at the government over Gazan refugee arrivals, as new data reveals Australia is approving more Palestinian visas than our closest allies.
Figures collated by the opposition show the government has granted 2,922 Gazan visas since Hamas' terror attack on Israel on October 7, in stark contrast to other developed nations.
The United Kingdom has granted 168 protection visas in the same timeframe, 153 temporary and residence visas have been approved by New Zealand, while the United States had accepted 17 as at the end of July, The Australian reported on Tuesday.
Speaking to Sky News Australia on Tuesday, Mr Paterson claimed Australia has taken a "very different approach" in accepting Gazan arrivals compared to our Five Eyes alliance partners.
"In addition to those figures from the US, UK, New Zealand and Canada, it’s also the same in France, in Germany, in Italy, in South Korea, in Japan," Mr Paterson told host Laura Jayes.
"There (are) only two countries in the world that we could find, two developed countries, that have accepted more people from Gaza than Australia has in the last six months.
"It’s not just a little bit of a difference, we’re talking about 10 times as many people from Gaza coming to Australia than our closest partners."
Belgium is leading Palestinian visa approvals, granting 3,249 since last year and 2,506 of those since January, according to the international data.
France has approved 260 Gazan visas to April this year while Greece has seen 1,106 applications in the same timeframe, although the data does not show how many have been approved.
Mr Paterson called on the government to explain its methodology for approving arrivals from Gaza, accusing Labor of rushing through the visa process.
"The reason why many of our partners haven’t accepted as many people as us is they’ve insisted on much more stringent checks that us," the Liberal Senator claimed.
"For example, Canada and France both require that you go to a consulate or embassy for an in-person interview, many other countries insist on biometric testing.
"These are all the things that the Australian government has waived as a requirement to come from Gaza and they have got to explain why that’s the case."
About 7,111 visa applications, out of a total 10,033, have been rejected by the Australian government since the October 7 attack on Israel, according to the figures.
There have been 2,922 Palestinian refugees accepted into Australia, which includes more than 2,560 tourist visas.
Senator Paterson raised concerns about the issuing of tourist visas for people fleeing the warzone in Gaza.
"The truth is these people coming from Gaza are not tourists, they do not intend to return to Gaza, understandably," Mr Paterson said.
"They intend to migrate here for as long as they can and stay as long as they can.
"So why were they granted tourist visas? A requirement of which is you intend to return from where you have come from."
Out of the 7,111 visas rejected by Australia, 43 were cancelled and 20 were reinstated following an appeals process.
Asked if he accepted the speed of granting visas was due to the state of conflict in the Palestinian enclave, Mr Paterson agreed Australia has a "role to play" amid the humanitarian crisis.
However, he questioned whether Australia should be "10 times more generous than our closest friends and partners" in granting visas, urging Labor to put national security first.
"We have moved very quickly to get people out, and I think the question is, is that in Australia’s national interest?" the Senator asked.
"Is that putting our national security first? Because our closest allies and partners have made a very different judgement.
"They’ve decided not to rush it, they’ve decided to take the time, as we did in Syria and Afghanistan, I mean Australia played a very significant role in those conflicts too."
The development comes after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called for an outright ban on all refugees arriving from Gaza amid national security concerns.
He has urged the government to conduct face-to-face interviews for all applicants, as well as the collect biometrics data.
The move has come under fire from across the political aisle, with the Prime Minister in parliament last week accusing the Liberal leader of seeking to "divide" the country.
Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News Australia on Monday visas for Palestinians are going through the "normal security checks" undertaken by ASIO.
