After his name and Gaza became focal points in Parliament discussions, mentioned daily by both the opposition and the ruling Labor party, Australia’s spy chief finally spoke up, stating that his comments on the vetting process for Palestinians fleeing Gaza had been misinterpreted.
“I’ve watched with interest over the last couple of weeks how people have chosen to distort what I said,” Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess told ABC News on Sept. 3.
Last month, Burgess, in an interview, said if people escaping the conflict expressed “just rhetorical support” for the listed terror group Hamas but didn’t have an ideology or back a violent ideology, they wouldn’t automatically be barred from entering Australia.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Shadow Minister for Immigration Dan Tehan called for a blanket ban on visas for Palestinians and cornered the government on the vetting issues in Parliament.
“I said that if you support a Palestinian homeland, that may not discount you [from entering Australia] because that by itself is not a problem. But I also said if you have a violent extremist ideology, or you provide material or financial support to a terrorist organisation, that will be a problem,” Burgess said.
During the last parliamentary session, the topic of Gaza led to many heated debates in Parliament, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accusing Dutton of sowing division in the community.
Debate has continued to ramp up this week, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton demanding an outright ban on granting visas to Palestinians from Gaza.
“He sows fear, and he sows division. That’s what he does; that’s what he’s done his entire political career, and that’s what he continues to do,” Albanese said.
Reacting to Burgess’s statement, Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie also opposed Burgess’s view, saying that anyone who supports Hamas should not be allowed into Australia.
“It’s as simple as that … I’ve got a lot of respect for Mike Burgess, and he’s a pretty straight shooter, but on this question, I disagree,” Hastie said.
Tehan also added that Albanese needed to clarify whether people who backed Hamas would be allowed into Australia.
“We were deeply concerned about the level of security checks that were taking place. It was unprecedented that people were coming from a war zone governed by a listed terrorist organization on tourist visas.”
Around 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas militants launched their Oct. 7 attack. Since then, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
