So WHERE will they go? Intrigue surrounds what will happen to Palestinian refugees who get kicked out of Australia after minister’s mystifying comment
- The Labor Party was questioned about the visas issued and revoked to Palestinians
- I can’t say if these people are still in Australia
- READ MORE: Albo’s Visa Fastrack Failure
The Albanian government is being questioned about whether Palestinian refugees who were denied entry to Australia have been sent back to a war zone, after the Home Secretary said “no country” would send anyone back to Gaza.
Liberal Senator James Patterson asked a series of questions about Palestinian asylum seekers to Labor’s Murray Watt during Senate Question Time on Thursday afternoon.
The Prime Minister was criticised in Parliament last month over the same issue, dodging questions and repeating that Labour was following the advice of the security services.
Since October 7, approximately 2,900 visas have been issued to people fleeing Gaza, of which 43 have been revoked and 20 have been granted after appeal.
Albanese did not mention these figures in the House of Representatives in August, and Senator Watt also did not provide clarity on the situation in the Senate on Thursday.
Mr Patterson specifically wanted to know how many Palestinians have been granted visas since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began with the October 7 attacks.
Mr Watt said he did not have the figures to hand and criticised the coalition for “making this a political issue”.
Mr Patterson then quoted Home Secretary Tony Burke, who had earlier said that “no country in the world would send people back to Gaza”.
The Albanian government has been questioned about whether Palestinian refugees denied entry to Australia have been sent back to a war zone
Liberal Senator James Patterson asked Labor’s Murray Watt a series of questions about Palestinian asylum seekers during Senate Question Time on Thursday afternoon
He asked: ‘Can you confirm that people whose visas have been revoked are staying in Australia?’
The Labor senator responded: “I’m not going to join the opposition’s latest attempt on this issue, and we know Senator Patterson is one of the biggest offenders.”
Mr. Patterson said, “Let me try again. How many people whose documents were revoked were deported?”
Mr Watt replied: ‘Again, what I can tell you is that anyone who fails the character tests and the ASIO security checks will not be granted a visa. Should any further information come out, their visa will be revoked.’
The question was not answered in the Senate on Thursday.
Daily Mail Australia can confirm that no visas have been revoked for refugees who have arrived in Australia.
Palestinians whose Australian visas had been revoked were abroad at the time and were denied entry. They did not come to Australia and were sent back.
In August it was announced that many Gazans have applied for asylum, meaning they are allowed to stay in Australia until a decision is made on their application.
The coalition said visitor visas are a particular concern because they do not require the same security checks as asylum seekers fleeing other war-torn countries.