Dutton at Emanuel
Dutton was speaking to a packed audience at Emanuel Synagogue.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he wouldn’t hesitate to cancel the visas of anyone found to have engaged in antisemitic behaviour should he be elected Prime Minister.
Dutton was speaking to a packed audience at Emanuel Synagogue, in conversation with journalist Gemma Tognini.
“Section 501 of the Migration Act allows us to cancel visas of migrants and non-citizens if they have committed crimes against Australians,” said Dutton.
“Our proposal is to reform the Act to capture people who have committed acts of antisemitism. There are millions of people who would come to Australia tomorrow and enjoy the opportunities that many of our forebears have. I don’t think that we should be ashamed to say that if you’re here in our country and you hate our country, or you hate a segment of our population, then I just don’t know why we would tolerate your presence.”
Dutton said the thousands of people who have arrived in Australia from Gaza without security checks is “without precedence in this country’s history”.
“If they claim protection it takes seven years in the courts before they can appeal an original decision to deny them citizenship. My point is that once somebody is here, they’re essentially here to stay unless there are exceptional circumstances.”
Dutton also criticised the Albanese government’s decision to continue funding UNRWA.
“I think it’s uncontroversial to say we as a country should not be funding terrorist organisations, those who are linked with, or affiliated or sympathetic to, terrorist organisations,” he said.
“People work harder than ever for their money and they would expect their tax dollars to be spent efficiently, wisely and in a cause that was named. It’s not, and the evidence is there, and it should be a very easy decision for the government to take.”
While Dutton said there is a “mood of excitement” around the Coalition’s chances of winning the election, he cautioned, “We just have to temper that, because we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us.”
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