September 3, 2024
Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson has taken aim at the Prime Minister for his handling of the Gazan visa issue, claiming he has tried to "hide behind ASIO" instead of taking responsibility for the debacle.
ASIO boss Mike Burgess in recent days clarified his stance on the issuing of visas to Gazan refugees, emphasising Hamas sympathisers would pose a national security threat.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Mr Paterson was asked for his reaction to Mr Burgess' comments and whether he agreed they were different to what the ASIO chief initially stated.
Mr Paterson said he would not voice criticism for ASIO or Mr Burgess as it would not be in Australia's interest to politicise the national security agency.
The shadow home affairs minister then accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of attempting to use the ASIO chief as a "political shield" amid the Gazan visa debate.
"It’s not in our country’s interest for them (ASIO) to be politicised," Mr Paterson told Sky News Chief News Anchor Kieran Gilbert.
"That’s why I’m very disappointed that the Prime Minister tried to use Mike Burgess as a political shield.
"He tried to hide behind ASIO, he should have just been upfront and taken responsibility from the very beginning."
Almost 3,000 Palestinian refugees have been granted entry to Australia since Hamas' terror attack on Israel on October 7, the majority of whom were issued visitor visas.
Of those refugees, an estimated 1,300 have since arrived in Australia.
The government has come under fire by the Coalition for its decision to grant visitor visas to Gazans fleeing the war-torn enclave, given many would likely not intend to return.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton last month called for an outright ban on all refugees arriving from Gaza citing national security concerns, accusing Labor of not undertaking appropriate checks such as biometrics tests and face-to-face interviews.
Deputy chair of the joint parliamentary committee on intelligence and security Andrew Wallace earlier told Sky News he would not be surprised if some refugees already in Australia could find themselves in immigration detention if they do not meet the requirements of a tourist visa.
According to the federal government's Home Affairs website, a condition of applying for a tourist visa in Australia is the applicant intends to come to the country to visit only.
Mr Paterson agreed immigration detention could be a risk if a person was in violation of those provisions of a visitor visa.
"The second issue is, what are we going to do if we do identify anyone who is a security risk now that they're here or if they violate the character provisions and their visas need to be cancelled?" Mr Paterson continued.
"All of this comes back to the original sin of the government in this issue which is tourist visas were never the appropriate visa to grant these people.
"They should have been taken to a third country where they could be removed from danger but assessed carefully as we did in Syria, Afghanistan, for their security and identity and also whether they met the criteria for refugee humanitarian protection.
"Bringing them onshore means they are now very difficult cohort to deal with."
Asked if he was worried there were security risks among the current group of Palestinian refugees in Australia given the size of the cohort, Mr Paterson said he held concerns.
"When you spend an average of 24 hours, and in some instances as quickly as one hour, granting a tourist visa to someone fleeing a warzone controlled by a terrorist organisation that increases the risk that mistakes are made and that people slip through, who we would never intend to bring into our country," he said.
"And this all comes back to the rushed, risky and reckless approach the government has taken from the beginning on this issue."
A total of roughly 7,111 applications have been rejected by the federal government since October 7.
