August 22, 2024
The Albanese government's handling of visas for Palestinians arriving from Gaza has been slammed by Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson after police expressed concern about whether Hamas supporters had been allowed into the country.
Police in NSW have voiced fears over the security risks surrounding the approval of nearly 3000 visas for Palestinians to come to Australia, with complaints from the opposition about inadequate security checks.
The Coalition spent last week attacking Labor on the issue, calling for extra security measures such as biometric or face-to-face interview to be implemented for visa applicants.
Speaking to Sky News host Sharri Markson on Wednesday evening, Senator Paterson said he was "not surprised" police were concerned about Hamas supporters potentially entering the state and accused Labor of overlooking community safety.
"This is a hugely significant story. It's effectively a vote of no confidence by New South Wales Police in the Albanese government's handling of immigration, national security and community safety," he said.
"And no wonder, because it's police who are on the frontline who have to deal with the consequences of a rushed and inadequate vetting process that the Albanese government has put in place since the 7th of October, in handing out almost 3000 tourist visas to people leaving Gaza in an average time of just 24 hours, in some instances as quickly as one hour... far faster and in far greater numbers than any of our like minded allies around the world.
"So I am not surprised that police are alarmed, but it is very concerning."
A senior security source told Sky News far more rigorous background checks were done on the young children of ISIS brides than Palestinians arriving in Australia from a terrorist hotspot.
"They put the families of foreign fighters through bigger scrutiny, and those kids have done nothing wrong and were quite young. There were thorough background and biometric checks," the source said.
Senator Paterson weighed in on the comparison about security checks, claiming it was "undeniably true" as there was no proof arrivals from Gaza had been screened to the same extent.
"We've had an interesting debate about whether or not it's wise or not to try and repatriate (ISIS brides and their children), but even the ones that were repatriated were done very carefully and with great scrutiny," he said.
"There is no evidence that that care or that scrutiny has been applied in the case of people fleeing Gaza. And frankly, scrutiny was required because we know from many widely published opinion polls that there is significant pockets of support for Hamas and the 7th of October attacks.
"Some polls show even a majority of Gaza residents subscribe to that view. And we don't want anyone who supports terrorism or listed terrorist organisations coming into our country."
It’s understood counter terrorism police have received no information about individuals coming from the Hamas-controlled Gaza warzone.
Sky News revealed on Tuesday that many of the 3,000 visas approved for Palestinians were done through an automated online process, with no manual security checks by intelligence agencies.
Home Affairs confirmed that all applications were processed online, but claimed a departmental officer was involved in the processing of each visa.
“Almost all applications for migration and temporary visas are lodged online regardless of where the applicant is - this includes Palestinian applicants,” a spokesperson said.
“All applications were assessed and decided by departmental officers.”
Immigration Minister Tony Burke's office confirmed that the visas of 23 Palestinians were cancelled after they had been issued and when they were already en route to Australia.
The Prime Minister confirmed in Question Time on Wednesday visas had been cancelled after they had been issued.
These Palestinians were understood to have had their visas cancelled when they were in other countries, such as Turkey or Egypt.
The Coalition claimed that the cancellation of 23 visas after they had already been issued is further proof of the rushed and inadequate process.
