Peter Dutton’s pursuit of Labor over Gaza visa issues may be repetitive. But it also may be paying off

Anthony Albanese likes to describe Peter Dutton as “divisive”, but perhaps a better d-word to describe him is “distractive”.

With an election due within nine months, the Government wanted to spend the first parliamentary fortnight back after a long break talking about how it was helping Australians. To the Government’s credit, it got a bit done this fortnight, it just got drowned out.

Over the last week, the Opposition’s relentless pursuit of detail over the security arrangements for Palestinian visas has often felt repetitive, but digging a bit deeper, it’s regarded by some on both sides of the aisle as a political tactic that might just pay off for them.

The more the Opposition could distract the Government away from its core message to talk about anything other than the number one issue — the cost of living — the greater the leverage they think they’ll have come election day.

We saw it in the lead-up to the Voice. For months, the Coalition peppered the government for details over how the Indigenous Voice to Parliament would operate, what it would cost, and what it would mean for property owners. Some of the questions were branded ridiculous, but it ultimately achieved its goal of distracting the Government.

Not only from its messaging about the good it hoped the Voice would do for Indigenous Australians, but ultimately from what all sides knew was the biggest issue in the electorate — helping everyday Australians doing it tough.

Then, when the Voice was over and Labor was licking its wounds, Mr Dutton was able to turn around and criticise the Prime Minister for “wasting” time — and money — when he should have been focusing on the cost of living.

What we’ve seen in the last week is a page from the same playbook.

The Coalition has some legitimate concerns that in the hasty processing of visitor visas for Gazans fleeing a war zone, Hamas sympathisers may have been able to fall through the cracks.

They’ve walked a fine line in not undermining the important work out security agencies, especially ASIO do, and have been explicit that theirs is a political concern.

There are genuine questions the Government needs to answer about why Palestinians were granted visitor visas. They didn’t come here to see the Sydney Opera House. And It’s not just the Coalition who are critical of the visa class this cohort is on, they’re fending pressure from the Greens too.

Former deputy immigration secretary Abul Rizvi says the department likely would have suggested the creation of a special visa class, and the government’s decision to treat the cohort like tourists had been political.

Whatever the decision-making process was, the Government is dealing with the fallout. It’s a dual conundrum because the Government also needs to figure out what’s next for the 1300 Palestinians from Gaza who’ve arrived here since October 7 whose visitor visas are about to expire and who won’t be expected to return to a war zone.

The fact that Anthony Albanese has declined to answer what the Coalition deems simple questions hasn’t helped him.

And it’s frustrating for the Government. They looked visibly exasperated again on Thursday anytime Mr Albanese or Immigration Minister Tony Burke were lobbed yet another question about the matter — including one about Qatar’s humanitarian intake.

The Coalition put at least 30 questions to Labor since last Wednesday about the issue, on the back of Mr Dutton announcing live on Sky News that Australia should have a “blanket ban” on arrivals from Gaza.

Labor has tried to hold its nerve, backing in the security agencies while saying it’s focused on “middle Australia, not the Middle East”. The dozen or so dixers on Thursday were an attempt to do a victory lap of all the Government’s achievements inside the Parliament over the last fortnight, which has been drowned out amid all the visa hullaballoo.

And there have been some serious pieces of legislation making their way through the Parliament this week. On Thursday, the government introduced a Bill that would enshrine superannuation payments applied to paid parental leave. It’s a major step in closing the gaping chasm that exists in superannuation equity and forms a big part of their broader plan to close the gender pay gap.

Childcare workers will get a 15 per cent pay rise, and action is being taken to end gender-based violence. The sharing of deepfake sexually explicit material is also now a criminal offence after landmark legislation passed the Senate unceremoniously on Wednesday.

Crucial aged care reforms are within sight, with Minister Anika Wells working with the Coalition to make major changes to the way the sector operates to take pressure off the Budget and put more onus on wealthier older Australians to pay their share in their twilight years.

The CFMEU’s besieged construction division will be placed into administration after some skilful negotiation with the Coalition, and Minister Murray Watt is confident the legislation is watertight enough to hold up against any legal challenges the union might mount. The last thing the House heard before it adjourned for a fortnight was that the Governor General had approved the Bill.

The piece de resistance of the Government’s fortnight should be the passage of significant, albeit contentious, reforms to the NDIS. One of the most serious strains on the Budget, Minister Bill Shorten not only got the support of the states to curb spending on the scheme by $14 billion over four years, but he also managed to get the Coalition onside to allow the Bill to pass on Thursday.

As Mr Albanese himself said as he closed out the last Question Time of the fortnight, “Despite the negativity and nastiness of those opposite, this Government has gotten on with the job of delivering for Australia”.

Whether or not Australians were paying attention remains to be seen.