The Albanese Labor Government continues to duck accountability for keeping Australians safe.
Why can’t the Prime Minister, or his ministers, give a straight answer about the security checks that were conducted, or are being conducted, on the 1300 people from the Gaza war zone who were issued a tourist visa to come to Australia?
The Australian people deserve an answer to each of these questions:
- Was security advice sought from ASIO before the government made the unprecedented decision to grant tourist visas to people from the Gaza war zone?
- Is the Minister for Immigration aware of any concerns from security or intelligence agencies about any of the 1300 people who have arrived in Australia from the Gaza war zone?
- Has any visa, of any of the 1300 people who are in Australia from the Gaza war zone on tourist visas, been cancelled?
- Is it true no other government in Australia’s history issued people from a war zone, led by a terrorist organisation, a tourist visa without the checks that would normally be conducted for a refugee / humanitarian visa?
It is disingenuous for the new Immigration Minister to refuse to answer questions by claiming a national security interest when information about visa cancellations is regularly published by the Department of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs.
Labor’s failed Immigration Minister Andrew Giles granted tourist visas to 3000 Gazans. That is an entirely inappropriate visa for people coming to Australia from a war zone and territory controlled by a terrorist organisation.
Any government that was serious about protecting the safety of its people would conduct a rigorous vetting process on all people coming to Australia from a war zone controlled by a terrorist organisation. The Albanese Labor Government is doing no such thing.
The Albanese Labor Government has a terrible record on immigration and national security:
- Labor botched the release of 178 detainees, including seven murderers, 37 sex offenders, and 72 violent offenders, following the NZYQ High Court decision.
- Labor told the Parliament, and the public, those detainees were released on visas with strict conditions but FOI documents have proven that claim was false.
- Labor issued a Ministerial Direction that allowed violent criminals and sex offenders to remain in Australia when they should have been deported.
