Andrew Bolt: Less of the shocked face over Palestinian visas, Albo

Anthony Albanese appeared shocked when Peter Dutton asked if it was wise giving so many visas to people from a hate-riven part of the world — but he should know better.

How can Labor have forgotten the terrorists who came when it last wanted “refugees” let in from the Middle East?

Yet here’s the Albanese government now handing 2275 visas to Palestinians since October 7, when Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1200 Jews and started this war that its people are now fleeing.

Indeed, our government gave most of those visas to Palestinians in Gaza, which has been run for nearly two decades by Hamas, banned here as a terrorist group.

Not surprisingly, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is asking if it is wise giving so many visas to people from that hate-riven part of the world, often after just a day – or only hours – of checking.

Anthony Albanese was a minister in the government of Kevin Rudd, when it let in the first of 50,000 illegal boat people to sail here under Labor. Picture: Martin Ollman

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put on his shocked face at hearing such questions. This was “just wrong”, he said. One of those Liberal “fear campaigns” with “no basis”.

No basis?

Albanese should know better.

He was a minister in the government of Kevin Rudd, when it let in the first of 50,000 illegal boat people to sail here under Labor, plus many thousands of other so-called refugees.

And what a coincidence! Rudd also did that shocked schtick back then, when Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey also asked if it was wise to let in so many boats, saying: “If you wanted to get into Australia and you have bad intentions, what do you do? You insert yourself in a crowd of 100 for which there is great sympathy for the other 99.”

Rudd acted outraged, damning these “deeply divisive, disgusting remarks” and demanding the Liberals sack Tuckey.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has asked if it is wise giving so many visas to people from that hate-riven part of the world. Picture: Martin Ollman

Except Tuckey turned out to be right. The vast majority of refugees we bring in are, of course, not terrorists, but bringing in people from poor, war-torn and tribal countries can go wrong, and some refugees we took in indeed became terrorists.

They included Man Monis, an Iranian refugee who staged the deadly Lindt cafe siege; Numan Haider, an Afghan refugee and ISIS recruit who stabbed two police; Farhad Jabar, an Iranian refugee who killed police accountant Curtis Cheng while shouting “Allah is the greatest”; Mohammad Ali Baryalei, an Afghan refugee who recruited and fought for ISIS; and Yacqub Khayre, a Somali refugee who murdered a worker in Melbourne, held a woman hostage, shot three police and declared: “This is for IS (ISIS).”

How could Albanese forget this recent history – and risk repeating it?