Burke dismisses as ‘idiotic’ opposition claims he would be soft on Palestinian refugees

Immigration Minister Tony Burke has dismissed as “idiotic” opposition claims he would be too soft on refugee claims by Palestinians as advocates say people fleeing the conflict in Gaza are struggling to eat and stay warm during the Australian winter.

Palestinian community leaders have for months demanded a permanent visa scheme and warned the visitor visa now being used by approximately 1300 Palestinian refugees, which blocks people from working or claiming welfare payments, was placing refugees in a dire situation in Australia.

Tony Burke has been given the new super portfolio of immigration and home affairs.Credit: AAP

They want a new visa to be considered for those leaving Gaza, similar to the one given to Afghans fleeing the Taliban after it seized power in 2021.

The Human Rights Law Centre, Refugee Council and other groups want new pathways for ongoing residence and complained the visitor visa was a bad fit because it requires Palestinians to prove they want to return to Gaza.

Many Palestinians are having their visa applications rejected because they cannot demonstrate a desire to go back to Gaza, and hundreds of refugees in Australia are now applying for protection visas when their three-month visitor visa expires.

“They aren’t warm enough and don’t have enough to eat over winter,” said the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Jana Favero.

“People are fleeing a war zone where they have been starving and forced to flee with nothing and just seen their homeland destroyed. It is horrific.”

Labor has steadily toughened its stance against the Netanyahu government’s war effort, releasing a further statement last week calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying it remains committed to a two-state solution as the “only realistic solution” to a lasting peace in the region.

The opposition’s home affairs spokesman, James Paterson, attacked the appointment of Burke to the home affairs and immigration portfolios, saying he would be too soft on Palestinian refugee claims.

“Burke has been one of parliament’s loudest pro-Palestinian voices. Along with his colleagues in southwestern Sydney, Burke is nonetheless under intense pressure from the Muslim Votes Matter group, which rates him as weak on Gaza and is threatening to back an independent against him,” Paterson wrote in an opinion piece for The Australian newspaper.

“But now we have to rely on Burke to ensure proper identity and security checks are conducted on the thousands of Gaza residents seeking to come to Australia.”

Burke said Paterson’s comments were “idiotic”.

“Can I just say what an idiotic comment from somebody who’s clearly never been a minister,” Burke said on ABC RN breakfast on Tuesday morning.

“The issue of making sure that you deal with security checks is fundamental to the immigration program. I have never hesitated to reject visas or to cancel visas. Absolutely never hesitated to....Any decision, regardless of where someone comes from, has to have your appropriate security and identity checks. Always has to happen. If I’m going to be in a debate of misinformation where somebody just makes stuff up, then I can see why Peter Dutton chose him [Paterson].”

The president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, Nasser Mashni, said different visa rules for other refugee cohorts was evidence of “systemic racism” towards Palestinians.

“The reality is that day-to-day operational challenges - things like registering children in schools, accessing healthcare - compound the immense trauma these families are experiencing,” Mashni said.

“We have stated repeatedly that this visa option simply isn’t suitable for people fleeing genocide.”

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