The Gaza and Palestine issue continued to be the centre of discussion during Question Time in Parliament on Aug. 21.
Shadow Minister for Immigration Dan Tehan again directed a query at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, asking him to confirm a claim made by a media outlet stating that 43 tourist visas were granted to refugees from the Gaza war zone but were later cancelled. He further claimed that 20 of these visas were reissued.
“Can the prime minister confirm this is accurate?” he asked.
Albanese responded that all the cancellations were done “offshore.” He also noted that under the former Coalition government, over 1,000 visas had been granted to Palestinian refugees before Oct. 7.
“Hamas didn’t take over the occupied Palestinian territories and the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. They were actually there beforehand, when those opposite were granting 1,000 visitor visas to people from the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said.
“I can certainly confirm that of the visitor visas that have been granted since Oct. 7, the only cancellations have been offshore.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley then followed up, asking the prime minister on whether the visas granted to Palestinians underwent detailed security checks or were granted through “an automated process.”
Instead of a direct reply, Albanese said the opposition was being “obsessed” with automated processes.
“This Coalition is obsessed with automated processes, like when they took the humans out of human services, with catastrophic consequences for Australians. And that’s why they’re not concerned about the impact that they had in government, like on Robodebt,” he said.
The Opposition pressed on, targeting the government’s quick visa processing for the refugees, calling it politically motivated, mainly to secure votes in key electorates.
They labelled it a “visa for votes” strategy to bolster support in areas with significant Middle Eastern communities.
Albanese refuted the claims, saying that the practice of issuing visas to individuals from conflict zones was not new. He pointed out that under the previous government, thousands of visas were granted to Syrians during the height of ISIS’s control over large parts of Syria.
“We rejected more than 7,000 visa applications. The Rafah border crossing is controlled by the Israeli and Egyptian authorities, and it has been closed since May,” he said.
He further criticised the Opposition for being “obsessed” with issues in the Middle East instead of focusing on those affecting Australia.
“Political expediency that ignores the cost of living, job security, wages, the economy, social policy, environmental concerns, and climate change—issues Australians care about—is more focused on the Middle East than middle Australia.”
