Spy chief spells out dealbreakers for Gaza refugees

Spy chief Mike Burgess has declared that backing Hamas is a barrier to getting a visa, clarifying his remarks from last month that suggested rhetorical support for the terrorist group would not necessarily exclude Gaza refugees from Australia.

The ASIO director-general said on Tuesday that people had distorted his initial remarks, which sparked a political fight that dominated parliament in August as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said no Palestinians should be let into the country.

ASIO boss Mike Burgess said his comments had been misrepresented.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I’ve watched with interest over the last couple of weeks how people have chosen to distort what I said,” he said in remarks aired as a preview of the ABC’s 7.30 program.

“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.”

Online support for Hamas – such as liking a social media post – would be a problem for applicants, Burgess said.

“Is it a one-off comment?” he said. “If it’s a tweet that actually – or reinforcement or liking of a tweet – that says the 7th of October [Hamas attack on Israel] was acceptable, that’s going to be a problem for that person.”

Burgess said on ABC’s Insiders program three weeks ago: “If it’s just rhetorical support, and they don’t have an ideology or support for a violent extremism ideology, then that’s not a problem.

“If they have a support for that ideology, that will be a problem.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to apologise to Burgess.

“I think the prime minister, by misleading the parliament about ASIO, suggesting that ASIO rejects each of these individuals, which they haven’t, I think he’s put Mr Burgess in a difficult position. I think it’s very clear the prime minister should be apologising to the ASIO boss for what they’ve put in place,” he said at a press conference in Victoria.

In response, Albanese pointed the finger at Dutton, saying: “The only person who’s been critical of the ASIO director-general is Peter Dutton. What we’ve done is support our security agencies … I haven’t undermined [Burgess’] authority, I’ve supported him and will continue to do so.”

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the government was to blame for the muddle over recent weeks.

“It remains a mystery why three weeks on, no government minister has said what Mike Burgess has made clear: Hamas supporters are a threat to security and should not be welcome here,” Paterson said in a statement.

“The only plausible explanation is they feared the domestic political consequences of putting our national security first.”

Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein said Burgess’ clarification did not resolve “ongoing concerns about the screening process for Gazans permitted to come to Australia”.

“While there is no objection to admitting genuine refugees fleeing Gaza into Australia, this depends on providing proper screening and security checks, which must take account of the fact they come from an area long ruled by a listed terrorist group,” he said.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said: “It’s alarming that the ASIO head felt it was necessary to issue a clarification in response to Peter Dutton’s baseless fears and politicised statements, reflecting a troubling trend where national security is being distorted for political purposes.”

As well as the war in Gaza, Mashni said, Palestinians were fleeing “oppression, occupation and apartheid, and it’s an indictment upon this country that it has chosen to demonise these people, rather than offer them the care and compassion that has been so rightly afforded to other people fleeing conflict zones”.

Last week, this masthead reported the Home Affairs Department had rejected three out of four visa applications by Palestinians, with the latest figures showing 13 visas were granted and 39 rejected from August 12 to 19.

Federal Labor is also facing pressure from advocacy groups to move refugees from bridging to permanent visas, after 23-year-old Sri Lankan asylum seeker Mano Yogalingam took his own life last week.

Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill said on Monday the government had granted 19,000 visas to refugees who had been stuck in limbo for 10 years, and was still working through 1000 more cases.

Hill said about 2000 people who were on bridging visas could now apply for permanent visas, and about 2500 others were not owed protection.

“They’re not forgotten, but the truth is this is one of the most complex areas of migration law. Every case is different and there is no magic wand,” Hill said.

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