- Labor was grilled over visas granted to Palestinians, and cancelled
- Unable to say whether those people are still in Australia
- READ MORE: Albo’s visa fastrack failure
The Albanese government has been grilled over whether Palestinian refugees refused entry to Australia have been returned to a war zone, after the Home Affairs minister said ‘no country’ would send anyone back to Gaza.
Liberal Senator James Patterson posed a series of questions about Palestinian asylum seekers to Labor’s Murray Watt during Senate Question Time on Thursday afternoon.
The Prime Minister was blasted over the same issue in Parliament last month, dodging the questions and continually reiterating that Labor was following advice by security agencies.
About 2900 visas were granted to people fleeing Gaza since October 7. Of those, 43 visas were revoked and 20 of those were restored on appeal.
Mr Albanese did not cite those figures in the House of Representatives in August, nor did Senator Watt shed any light on the situation in the Senate on Thursday.
Mr Patterson specifically wanted to know how many Palestinians were granted visas since the Israel-Hamas conflict kicked off with the October 7 attacks.
Mr Watt said he did not have the figures in front of him and criticised the Coalition for ‘turning this into a political issue’.
Mr Patterson then quoted Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke, who previously said ‘no country in the world would send people back to Gaza’.
The Albanese government has been grilled over whether Palestinian refugees refused entry to Australia have been returned to a war zone
Liberal Senator James Patterson posed a series of questions about Palestinian asylum seekers to Labor’s Murray Watt during Senate Question Time on Thursday afternoon
He asked: ‘Can you confirm people who had their visas cancelled will remain in Australia?’
The Labor senator replied: ‘I’m not going to participate in the latest attempt by the Opposition around this issue, and we we know Senator Patterson is one of the worst offenders.’
Mr Patterson said: ‘I’ll try my luck on another. How many who have had their documents cancelled have been deported?’
Mr Watt replied: ‘Again, what I can tell you is that anyone who fails character tests and security vetting by ASIO doesn’t get a visa and, should further info come to light, their visas are cancelled.’
The question was not answered in the Senate on Thursday.
Daily Mail Australia can confirm no visas have been cancelled for refugees who have arrived in Australia.
Palestinians who did have their Australian visas cancelled were offshore at the time and denied access, rather than arriving in Australia and being turned back.
In August it was revealed that many Gazans lodged claims for asylum, which means they will be able to stay in Australia until there is a decision on their application.
The Coalition said visitor visas were of particular concern because they do not require the same security checks as those for asylum seekers fleeing other war-torn nations.