Dutton’s heartless call has a human cost – and a political price

Peter Dutton is certain to gain support in parts of the Australian community for his strident call to ban all refugees from Gaza because of the war between Israel and Palestine.

But that does not make him right. The opposition leader has made a heartless call that deepens the division in the Australian community and is at odds with previous decisions to help civilians who seek safety from war.

Opposition Leader Peter DuttonCredit: Sydney Morning Herald

Yes, there is a genuine security challenge for Australia because of the risk that Palestinian refugees will support Hamas, the listed terror group that sparked the war with its slaughter of Israeli civilians last October.

The rational response to Dutton’s argument is that he was a cabinet minister when Australia took refugees from war zones including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

When former prime minister Tony Abbott chose to take 12,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria in 2015, for instance, many were Yazidi and Christian civilians who were fleeing Islamic State. The former Coalition government also accepted Afghan refugees who were fleeing the Taliban.

This meant the government had to accept the risks involved in vetting every case to make sure the refugees were who they said they were and would not pose a threat to Australia.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke must now ensure all Gazans applying to come to Australia are properly vetted. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The onus is now on Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who has been in the job for about two weeks, to guarantee the same level of vetting for those who come from Gaza.

Not all Palestinian people are Hamas supporters. The terror group has, after all, invited destruction on Gaza. It had only 44 per cent of the popular vote when it took control of Gaza in 2006.

As the war goes on, with more coverage of civilian deaths from Israeli bombs, the Dutton edict may satisfy his conservative base as it turns other voters away because it seems so brutal. While Dutton has gained ground in the polls, he rarely shows any empathy as a leader.

So there is a big question about why Dutton chose to ignite a migration fight when he might have been wiser to maintain pressure on Anthony Albanese over the cost of living – only days after the prime minister was caught in a blame game with the Reserve Bank over inflation and interest rates. After all, that’s the issue that matters most to voters.

Dutton made a captain’s call to go hard against all refugees from Gaza. But his stance is at odds with the official advice from Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Burgess said on Sunday that Australia should reject refugees who displayed an “extremist ideology” in supporting Hamas but support for a Palestinian homeland would not necessarily breach a security check. He did not say all Palestinians should be rejected on security grounds.

Dutton will carry the Coalition party room because so many Liberals and Nationals agree with him. Julian Leeser, the member for Berowra, said the ASIO guidance was a “disturbing” position. James Paterson, the shadow minister for home affairs, said that anyone who supported Hamas must not come to Australia. That is a fair call, but Dutton goes harder with a ban on all Gazans.

That security concern adds real complexity to this debate. Russell Broadbent, a former Liberal with a history of standing up for asylum seekers, notes that countries like Egypt and Jordan are not opening their doors to Palestinian refugees.

This will resonate in the community because many Australians do not want to take sides. When this masthead, through the Resolve Political Monitor, last asked voters about taking refugees from the war zone, only 10 per cent wanted to accept Palestinian refugees, 10 per cent would take those from Israel and 30 per cent were open to taking refugees from both. However, 50 per cent did not want refugees from either side.

Burke was careful in question time not to inflame the debate. He said the government had granted 2922 visas and rejected 7111 from Palestinians since October, showing that the vetting was working. He said the security checks were the same as those applied by the former government.

(Of the visas granted, only about 1300 have come to Australia so far. At the same time, 8746 people from Israel have been granted visas. With the borders sealed around Gaza, the government does not expect many more Palestinian refugees for the moment.)

Burke warmed up, however, when asked if he could guarantee every refugee applicant had a face-to-face interview. He said this was challenging in a war zone. So he relied on the ASIO guidance to fend off the Coalition attacks.

“When it comes to advisers, I’ve seen what Mike Burgess has said and I’ve seen what James Paterson has said,” Burke told parliament. “And if it’s a choice between taking national security advice from a junior Coalition shadow minister or the director-general of our national security organisation, I’ll back our national security organisation any day.”

Dutton is accustomed to winning arguments on national security when he is in the cabinet and has the security agencies behind him. He is in a different position now. His hard-line approach is cruel to people fleeing war. This has a human cost. And Dutton may find it has a political cost.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.