Dutton defends Gaza refugee ban after claims of racism
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has defended calls to ban Palestinians fleeing Gaza being issued with visas, with the comments being labelled as racist.
Mr Dutton made the comments on Wednesday without consulting coalition frontbench members as a captain’s call, which is understood to have surprised opposition MPs.
On Thursday, the opposition leader doubled down and tried to suspend debate in parliament, as he said his position was not discriminatory.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“My job is to protect all Australians and it’s exactly what I’m doing,” he told the Nine Network on Thursday.
“I’m not discriminating on any basis. Happy to see people brought in from the Middle East, if they’ve been properly checked.”
In parliament, Mr Dutton sought to discuss the visa situation.
“This is not against people of a particular religious belief. This is not against people of a particular political persuasion. This is about keeping our country safe,” he told parliament.
“Imagine if the Howard government or the Morrison government had suggested that we would bring people in who are sympathisers to Saddam Hussein or to al-Qaeda or to ISIL or to ISIS.”
Mr Dutton rejected claims he had heightened tensions in the community just days after ASIO director-general Mike Burgess called for public figures to be mindful of their rhetoric.
Independent MP Zali Steggall said the comments from the opposition were concerning and were only inciting community fear.
“These are families that you are seeking to paint that somehow they are all terrorists, that they should all be mistrusted and not worthy, that they are not worthy of humanitarian aid,” she told parliament.
“Stop being racist.
“It’s very easy to dehumanise people seeking safety. It’s very easy to paint a brush that somehow they are all to be feared.”
Education Minister Jason Clare criticised the opposition leader’s decision to make the comments about Gaza visas at a ceremony welcoming home returning Olympians.
“That shows you something about what lies in the heart of Peter Dutton,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Every instinct in this bloke’s body, every calculation is about how he can divide the country.
“It shows this bloke’s not fit to run a bar, let alone Australia.”
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Palestinians should still be able to come to Australia, as long as security checks were carried out.
“The whole purpose of doing security checks is to weed out the undeserving and let in the deserving, and that’s why everyone agrees we have to have it, and that’s why it needs to be robust to make sure that we’re making those right choices,” he told ABC Radio.
