Burke Refuses To Ban Hamas Supporters

The Albanese government is rejecting pressure to bolster security checks for Palestinian supporters of Hamas who are trying to secure a visa to come to Australia.

At least 70 Coalition and crossbench MPs have signed a letter to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke demanding he also consider cancelling the visas of those with links to the terrorist group already in the country. Incredibly, it appears the government is unwilling to do so.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson and Jewish Liberal MP Julian Leeser called on visa applications from Palestinian territories to be referred to ASIO for assessment, and for Mr Burke to direct the department to refuse any person identified as a supporter of a terrorist organisation.

“Hamas’ extreme ideology is a threat to the safety of Australians and also to Australia’s social cohesion,” the letter states.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton, Nationals leader David Littleproud, crossbencher Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson are among signatories.

But, seemingly rejecting the security concerns of his parliamentary colleagues, Mr Burke said security assessments were made by the experts at ASIO, “not by junior Liberal Party shadow ministers”.

“The security processes ASIO uses today are exactly the same as the security processes it used under the previous government,” he said.

“Does the Liberal Party have faith in our security and intelligence community – or do they think they know better than the experts who work day in and day out to keep Australians safe?”