Australia: Former Home Affairs Secretary Criticizes Government’s Decision on Gazan Visas

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Former home affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo has argued that the Albanese government should have taken a more cautious approach before approving nearly 3,000 visas for Palestinians fleeing Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks. Pezzullo suggested that the government should have "paused" the process to more carefully assess the character of applicants and the potential risks involved.  

 

The Australian government extended refuge to Gazans after Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023, despite growing concerns from some quarters that elements of the conflict could be imported into Australia. The increase in antisemitic incidents, including shocking attacks on the Jewish community, has intensified scrutiny of the decision, with critics questioning whether enough was done to ensure national security.  

 

Speaking with Sky News' Sharri Markson on Monday, Pezzullo weighed in on the matter, saying that he would have taken a different approach. "There is an issue here of judgements about character, last year there was a debate about whether there'd been an ASIO screening," he said. "From an abundance of caution, I probably would have paused any consideration, even from a character point of view." He explained that the Migration Act allows for ministerial discretion in assessing character and that he would have applied this authority to temporarily halt visa approvals.  

 

When pressed by Markson on whether he would have actively paused the process, Pezzullo confirmed: "Yes, I would." He elaborated that he would have sought extensive consultations with Australia’s intelligence allies, including Five Eyes partners and Israeli authorities. "I would have taken a step back, consulted with Five Eyes partners, consulted with the Israelis," he said. "Of course, there are checks done—you can't cross into Egypt, for instance, without going through an Israeli checkpoint. That would have helped."  

 

Pezzullo argued that gathering intelligence from international allies and putting a temporary freeze on visas would have been a more prudent approach. "I would have just, until the situation became clearer and after extensive consultation with Five Eyes, European, Israeli and other colleagues, I would have taken an extra cautious view of those visas on character grounds and not just simply the more narrow lens that the director general of security has to, by law, apply in a very restricted fashion."  

 

His comments come amid a rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia, including a suspected terror plot involving a caravan filled with explosives and a note listing Jewish targets in New South Wales. Over the weekend, antisemitic attacks were reported in Sydney, with a group of women having eggs thrown at them at Bondi Beach and offensive graffiti being spray-painted on multiple properties and vehicles in Kingsford and Randwick.  

 

 

Expressing concern over the safety of the Jewish community, Pezzullo acknowledged the growing fears among Australian Jews. "I can't imagine what it would be like living as a Jewish Australian person in Sydney, Melbourne or indeed anywhere else," he said. "You certainly would feel that apprehension of an expected attack. So I don't want to take anything away from that visceral feeling that regrettably some members of our community have and they shouldn't have. They should feel safe."

 

Based on a report by Sky News 2025-02-05

 

 

[sherwood]

Yep need to send em back before Gaza is gone.

[loong]

They must be mad to take any Palestinians.

They should be asking why the Arab/Muslim countries don't want to have them into their countries.
Why has Egypt erected a huge barricade between Gaza and Egypt.

Jordan took in Palestinians, and they started a civil war and attempted to kill the King before being expelled.

Same in Lebanon, civil war and turned a nice country into a sh**hole!

Palestinians accepted by Kuwait and aided Saddam when he invaded Kuwait.

And more!

They cannot be trusted.

[SunnyinBangrak]

Up to the Ozzies if they want to live in fear and not be able to fairly observe the destruction of everything they stand for. Best get building Merkel lego (giant concrete blocks everywhere vehicles can enter pedestrian zones) for when the vehicles suddenly start attacking infidels.

[Chomper Higgot]

So no evidence that the refugees from Gaza have anything to do with the rise in Antisemitic attacks.

 

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

12 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So no evidence that the refugees from Gaza have anything to do with the rise in Antisemitic attacks.

 

   In other threads some posters claim that Israel have created a generation of Palestinians that will attack Israelis/Jews at every opportunity they get 

[MalcolmB]

19 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So no evidence that the refugees from Gaza have anything to do with the rise in Antisemitic attacks.

 

 

 

These attacks are usually from the far right white people.

 

It must be confusing for the Aborigines to see how all these different immigrants carry on. 

[georgegeorgia]

5 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

These attacks are usually from the far right white people.

 

It must be confusing for the Aborigines to see how all these different immigrants carry on. 

Unfortunately sadly the highest crime areas in Australia are not the City areas ,they are the Country areas where there are large Aboriginal communities so I feel immigrants have a lot more up contribution to Australia 

 

Alice Springs is a City in the Northern Australia that has the highest crime rate in Australia because of its Aboriginal people 

 

I wrote to the Prime Minister and advised him to import Muslim immigrants to Alice Springs to stop the crime with a beautiful religion 

Never replied to me 

 

[Bkk Brian]

5 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So no evidence that the refugees from Gaza have anything to do with the rise in Antisemitic attacks.

 

Read the article, its called risk assessment, maybe a concept you are unfamiliar with?

5 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

These attacks are usually from the far right white people.

 

It must be confusing for the Aborigines to see how all these different immigrants carry on. 

Pure deflection, why would the surge in antisemitic attacks have started from Oct 7th 2023? Out of all the hundreds that have been arrested and charged in Australia since Oct 7th for antisemitic attacks including vandalizing or setting homes, schools, and synagogues on fire how many of those were far right white people?

 

Got a source for your claims?