Anthony Albanese has repeatedly refused to say that support for the proscribed Hamas terrorist group would fail the security “character test” and deny entry to Australia after a two-week parliamentary cross-examination on Labor’s issuing of 3000 tourist visas for Gazans since the horrific October 7 terror attack on Israel.
This is a critical point for security assessments, immigration policy and the political debate.
Peter Dutton described it as a “moment of truth” that the Prime Minister failed.
There is no doubt this is the most substantial and gravest development for the government in the whole saga over the admission to Australia for at least 1300 people from the war-torn Hamas-controlled Gaza region since the deaths of 1200 Israelis last year that sparked the conflict in Gaza.
After deflecting or refusing to answer every question from the Coalition in this parliamentary sitting on Labor’s handling of visas for people coming from Gaza since October 7, Albanese appeared on Thursday to be more positive and forthcoming until the very last opposition question of the day.
When asked directly: “Does supporting Hamas pass the character test for an Australian visa?” he went back to the bluff and bluster of the previous two weeks, declaring his faith in ASIO and that Australia was a great multicultural nation.
In answer to previous questions on visas for Gazans, Albanese had adopted a less aggressive, more conciliatory stance appealing for unity and a peaceful settlement to the deaths of thousands of civilians – both Israelis and Gazans.
Declaring that it was a “bad thing” to use hate to target anyone because of their faith – Jewish or Islamic – Albanese decried the horrific deaths of young Israelis at a music concert and said they were the sort of people “most open to ideas and (who) wanted peace and reconciliation”.
Yet when it came to the hard policy question on whether support for the Hamas terror group that committed what he described himself as horrific crimes would fail a visa test for Australia, Albanese faltered.
Just as he made a bad error last week in misquoting ASIO’s director-general on whether there were security checks for every one of the 3000 visas issued – which there weren’t – Albanese made a bad error in being unable to definitely declare support for a proscribed terror organisation would deny someone a visa to Australia.
The Opposition Leader said the message from Albanese’s answers was a “radical departure from policy” that would now mean support for a terrorist group – Hamas, Nazis, ISIS or ISIL – would not bar entry.
It was a dramatic end to what was a tiring two-week war of attrition; Dutton will feel vindicated and Albanese content for it to be over.
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