Burke working on steps for 2000 Palestinians to stay in Australia
Ronald MizenSenior reporterAug 4, 2024 – 4.55pmListen to this article3 minPalestinians who fled the war in Gaza will be allowed to stay in Australia when their temporary visitor visas expire, but Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has signalled they will face tougher security checks.
Mr Burke, who was appointed to home affairs in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cabinet reshuffle last week, said he had not yet decided “the next step” for the more than 2000 people affected.
“[But] obviously, no country in the world would send people back to Gaza at the moment,” he said on Sunday. “So, we have to work through what happens as the visas that people are currently on expire.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke: “The level of security assessment becomes higher and higher the longer the stay on a visa is, and that’s how I’ll be operating.” AAP
Mr Albanese echoed that sentiment. “I don’t think anyone could suggest that now it’s a time where people would be sent back to Gaza, given what is happening,” he told reporters in Cowra.
Temporary visitor visas last three to 12 months and do not grant holders access to work, education or healthcare, but people who arrive on a valid visa are then entitled to apply for a protection or safe haven visa, which does allow additional rights such as access to government services.
AdvertisementMr Burke would not be drawn on reporting in The Sydney Morning Herald that the Albanese government was considering a new special visa pathway for Palestinians fleeing the war, saying it would not be fair to those affected for him to be speculating before a final decision was made.
He indicated, however, that people being considered for new visas would be scrutinised more closely after it was revealed in Senate estimates some temporary visa holders had received little scrutiny before arriving.
“I don’t make compromises on national security. I never have, never will,” he said. “The level of security assessment becomes higher and higher the longer the stay on a visa is, and that’s how I’ll be operating.”
Middle East destabilisation
Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank killed nine Palestinian militants on Saturday (Sunday AEST), according to the Israeli army, with tensions high over the war in Gaza and a potential regional escalation.
Ceasefire discussions on Gaza continued. The US has urged Israel to seize the chance for a ceasefire after the shock killing of Hamas’ political leader in Iran, which Tehran blamed on Israel.
That killing and Israel’s assassination of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon have the region holding its breath for retaliation against Israel.
Mr Albanese on Sunday reinforced warnings from Foreign Minister Penny Wong for Australians in Lebanon to return home as soon as possible,
“We repeat the fact that it is a very volatile situation in the Middle East. We want to see a de-escalation. But while commercial flights are available, people should avail themselves of them,” he said.
On a separate immigration issue that plagued his predecessors’ times in the home affairs and immigration portfolios – the High Court’s NZYQ decision to release hundreds of criminal immigration detainees – Mr Burke said his clear intention was to return as many of them to detention as he legally could.
“A lot of work has been done in building up the cases,” he said. “Let’s not forget, every one of these individuals as an individual, the government’s position was for them to be detained.
“We had the High Court effectively change where the precedents had been on that issue. That’s the High Court’s right, we’ve got to respect it. But in terms of community safety, every power we have to increase community safety I intend to take, but you have to make sure the evidence is there.”
With AP
