Tony Burke ‘passed over’ Palestinian migrants at Australian citizenship ceremony
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has been accused of “passing over” Palestinian migrants at a citizenship ceremony at Sydney Olympic Park.
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Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has been accused of “passing over” Palestinian migrants at a citizenship ceremony at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.
Some 12,500 new Australians have been given their papers in recent days at ceremonies across the nation in areas with large numbers of approved applicants – including in Hobart, Adelaide, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Melbourne and Perth.
At Homebush, as many as 6000 people took the citizenship pledge at events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday attended by Mr Burke – who, according to reporter Alex McKinnon, “read out the nationality of every person in the room who was getting their citizenship, except the Palestinians”.
“He asked if he’d missed any. When someone in the crowd called out ‘Palestine’ he said, ‘This is the list I’ve been given’,” McKinnon wrote in a post on X, quoting text messages that had been shared with him by an attendee.
A photo of Sunday’s ceremony, also shared by McKinnon, was captioned: “To be clear, he passed over the Palestinians waiting to become citizens.”
The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment.
Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Coalition reiterated Australia’s support of a two-state solution in Gaza earlier this month, off the back of US President Donald Trump’s vow to take control of the decimated strip, permanently “resettle” its more than two million residents and redevelop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
At the UN in November, the Federal Government also backed a draft resolution on the “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Golan over their natural resources”.
On Friday, Mr Burke hit back at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s accusation he was “fast-tracking” citizenship applications to encourage newly-arrived migrants to vote for Labor in at-risk marginal seats at the upcoming federal election. April 12, May 3 or May 10 have been hinted as possible dates being considered by Mr Albanese.
Instead, he told Sky News Australia, the ceremony blitz was the result of “a huge backlog of people who were entitled to have these citizenship ceremonies and different councils were not having enough ceremonies”.
“So, we’re marking sure that we deal with a huge backlog,” Mr Burke, who has been attending the ceremonies since returning to the Home Affairs portfolio in July, continued.
“One council had 700 people wanting to get allocated to their ceremonies and they weren’t holding the ceremonies. So, you know, this is a good opportunity. I have no idea which way these individuals are going to vote.
“They’re people who want to make a pledge of commitment to Australia. They’ll be in all sorts of seats. A whole lot of them will be in safe Liberal seats. I don’t care. They want to make a pledge of commitment to Australia. They’re entitled to do so. I’m not going to let any council hold that back.”
Last week, Mr Dutton suggested Labor was fast-tracking citizenship, particularly for people who had fled Gaza, “giving a nod and a wink to a particular part of society” – despite the fact nobody who has left the war-torn region in the past 12 months is eligible for citizenship.
“Let’s be frank about the motivation,” Mr Dutton said at Sky News’ summit on antisemitism on Thursday.
“Why would you bring people in from a war zone, without the requisite checks on a tourist visa, without precedent? Why would you do that?
“And, knowing that it’s territory controlled by a listed terrorist organisation, why would you expressly push people through the process to receive citizenship in advance of an election, which is pending?”
Mr Burke slammed the Opposition Leader’s comments as “outrageous”, while Amnesty International Australia’s Occupied Palestinian Territory spokesperson, Mohamed Duar, said the “dangerous rhetoric demonises Palestinians fleeing genocide and persecution in search of safety”.
“In a time of rising Islamophobic violence, politicians must act responsibly, not incite further racism, hate and division,” Mr Duar said.
“These are everyday women, men and children who have endured war crime after war crime, horror after horror. Homes, schools, shelters, hospitals and places of worship have all been destroyed. Palestinians deserve dignity, safety and welcoming rather than be used as political footballs.
“The Federal Election must not be fought on Islamophobia, racism or fearmongering. Australians should take pride in offering safety to Palestinian families escaping Israel’s genocide in Gaza, not fall for politically motivated scapegoating.
“Spreading misinformation about the citizenship process fuels racism and hate. With increasing incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism around Australia, politicians should be acting to protect vulnerable communities, fulfil their international obligations and provide support for those seeking safety. Failing to do so risks inciting further violence.
“Human rights must remain at the heart of Federal Election matters, and no politician, Dutton or otherwise, should exploit such communities for political gain.”
Indians, followed by New Zealanders, were the dominant nationalities of those granted citizenship in recent days.
Applicants must be lawful residents of Australia for four years before they can apply, precluding any people who arrived here later than 2020 – including those who have left Gaza since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel or amid Israel’s retaliatory campaign.
Originally published as Tony Burke ‘passed over’ Palestinian migrants at Australian citizenship ceremony
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