Complicity & Stupidity
Security alarm raised: Fast-tracked Australian visas issued to Palestinians
Albanese government blasted by Sharri Markson over ‘extremely worrying’ decision to grant visas to 860 Palestinians
Sharri Markson has unleashed on the Albanese government over its “extremely worrying” decision to issue visas to more than 800 Palestinians, questioning Labor’s security process in the wake of increased anti-Semitism around Australia.
Sky News host Sharri Markson has torn into the decision to provide more than 800 Palestinians who have links to Australia with visas, arguing the Albanese government has “lost its mind”.
According to a report from the ABC, the cohort has been issued with visitor visas which would allow them to remain in the country for between three and 12 months.
Despite the 860 visas having been granted between October 7 and November 20, the ABC claims the majority of the group remain trapped in Gaza.
The Opposition immediately raised concerns over the visas, demanding the government provide more detail and explain the security process.
“It would be very good if we understood what visas are being granted and what security checks are being undertaken as part of the granting of these visas,” shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan told Sky News Australia on Thursday.
Within the hour, Foreign Minister Penny Wong held a press conference to confirm those who had been granted visas were “subject to appropriate security checks”.
There are not, and there will never be, “appropriate security checks”. Australia doesn’t have the means or the knowledge to check if the arriving Mohammedans are vicious killers or not.
However, Sharri unleashed on the government over the decision, questioning its national security credentials in the wake of the release of more than 90 hardened criminals following the High Court’s decision that indefinite detention of asylum seekers was illegal.
In her editorial on Wednesday, the Sky News host said Australians can be “forgiven for questioning their (the government’s) security processes” given the recent decision.
“This government is weak on national security,” she said.
“Those granted visas might be innocent Palestinians – but what security checks are being done to make sure they don’t have links to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other terror groups?
“The visas have already been granted – the security process cannot have been that vigorous. The Albanese Government has lost its mind.”
In the wake of the outbreak of conflict in Gaza, there has been a severe uptick in anti-Semitism, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry revealing the number of anti-Semitic incidents had increased to their highest level since they began keeping track.
Sharri said the government needed to ensure the intake of Palestinians from Gaza did not add to the ongoing anti-Semitism in Australia.
“This is outrageous. Is Home Affairs trawling through their social media, their phone messages, their internet use to make sure some of them don’t have terror allegiances?” she asked
“This is extremely worrying – we have every right to be concerned and I have no faith, at all, that our government – under the hapless (Home Affairs Minister) Clare O’Neil and (Immigration Minister) Andrew Giles – will be making sure some terrorist sympathisers and anti-Semites aren’t being flown right into our peaceful cities.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed the 860 Palestinians granted temporary Australian visas since the outbreak of Israel’s war with Hamas were subject to “appropriate security checks.” Picture: NCA NewsWire/Morgan Sette
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday after reports first emerged about the visas, Senator Wong explained there was “a lot of demand” from those in the region to secure passage to Australia in order to escape the conflict.
“Over the same period, I think between the 7th of October and a couple of days ago, we had 1793 visas issued to Israeli citizens (as well as those from Palestine),” she said.
The government’s national security credentials have been repeatedly questioned following the High Court’s release of the 94 criminals.
A week after the decision and with the Prime Minister out of the country for the APEC Summit in San Francisco, the government finally acted on legislation to toughen up conditions around those released.
The laws were heavily criticised as being weak by the Coalition before the government negotiated with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to pass six amendments to the bill.
With Labor’s security track record under focus, the latest visa decision has reignited concerns.
Speaking to Sharri on Wednesday, veteran broadcaster Steve Price said he had “no confidence at all” in the government’s security checks.
“Federal Labor has a habit of bungling national security… There is no way that since October 7th you could do proper checks on these people,” Price said.
“And Australia always seems very quick to rush to provide this security for people without checking properly.”
Price echoed Sharri’s concerns and said there would be plenty of people with “connections to Hamas who would be trying to hide that”.
He argued an Australian-sponsored flight out of the Middle East and a temporary visa provided the “perfect escape route”.
“I think most people in Australia would be very nervous about that. And it comes at a time, as you say, where we’ve just released into the public a bunch of people who should still be in detention, child molesters, murderers, people who have been alleged of being terrorists themselves,” he said.
“Why do we keep doing this charade?”