The Albanese government has ‘flip flopped’ on its decision to cancel some Palestinian visas, citing security concerns. Now, it has reversed this decision and reassured the Australian public that all is under control. Was it wise to do so?
Since the war between Hamas and Israel began, 2,000 visas have been issued to Palestinians, less than 400 have actually entered Australia.
Controversy erupted after a group of Palestinians at Cairo airport claimed that, on arrival, they were informed that their visas had been cancelled. Refugee and human rights groups were quick to urge the Labour government to reconsider. In a letter to the foreign minister, Penny Wong, the general delegation of Palestine to Australia pleaded with the government to reconsider its decision and allow Palestinian refugees to travel safely to Australia.
What about national security concerns?
Palestinians were arriving undocumented through checkpoints. When the government decided to relinquish their visas, Home Affairs Minister, Clare O’Neil, released a statement outlining the government’s decision. “If people make it out of Gaza without explanation, or their circumstances change in any meaningful way, we will take the time to understand those changes before proceeding.”
It is patently obvious that the Albanese government’s flip-flopping is a shambolic example of a disordered, unplanned, hyper-compassionate attempt to bring in refugees from a war zone pitted with vexed ideologies.
Are the government security checks considering personal beliefs? What if some believe that October 7th was a good thing? We don’t exactly know how Albo’s government is conducting security checks. If personal beliefs about October 7th aren’t included in its security vetting, it’s reasonable to assume that an unknown percentage of Palestinians arriving in Australia support acts of terrorism.
While the advocates for Palestinian refugees insist that security checks are thorough, is the Labour government taking into account the findings of the recent AWRAD study? Let’s not forget that 75% of respondents from the West Bank and Gaza supported the October 7th attacks on Israel.
The Australian government should be considering these findings. Wouldn’t a reasonable security check on potential refugees want to tease out what they believe? No one doubts there’s a humanitarian crisis at hand, but it is an ethically complex crisis, and the Australian government must address some complex questions.
However, we must still be truthful. Not all victims of humanitarian crises are worthy of being accepted as refugees into Western countries. That shouldn’t be a controversial thing to say either, it matters what refugees believe about acts of terrorism and if we ignore this dimension, we risk inviting vexed ideologies into our country that believe c rape, murder and massacre of innocent civilians is justifiable ‘in some circumstances.’
These kinds of unchecked beliefs can turn into actions and before its too late, disaster can strike. Palestinians who support October 7th should be barred from Australia and the Albanese government has been unclear about what kind of security checks it has implemented. If terrorism is supported somewhere, it can be supported anywhere. It is not unreasonable to expect that Palestinians arriving ought to have a certain degree of civilized beliefs. Whether or not they agree with the existence of Israel is one thing, but supporting the massacre of innocent civilians is intolerable, un-Australian, and anti-Western. Ultimately, if Albo fails to conduct the correct security checks, Australia will be open to inviting a lieu of terrorist supporters into the heart of the Western world.
The Australian government must not allow supporters of terrorism to enter Australian shores.
