Zali Steggall tells Dutton to ‘stop being racist’ in parliament amid heated debate on Palestinian visas
Independent MP Zali Steggall has accused the Coalition of whipping up fear and told the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, to “stop being racist”, amid fierce debate in parliament over the granting of visas to Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Gaza.
The opposition leader kicked off parliament on Thursday accusing the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, of misleading the House on the process of granting visas to those in Gaza.
It came a day after Dutton escalated the opposition’s rhetoric against Palestinians fleeing Gaza, claiming that none should be allowed to Australia “at the moment” due to an unspecified “national security risk”.
The comments contradict the assessment by the Asio spy chief, Mike Burgess, that rhetorical support for Hamas should not be an automatic bar to Palestinians receiving visas.
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On Thursday, during a motion to suspend the standing orders, Dutton said the stance was “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,” Dutton said. “And Anthony Albanese has failed the Australian public and he should stand condemned.”
The Liberal leader was joined by his colleague Dan Tehan, the shadow immigration minister, who suggested previous lapses in security vetting had led to the alleged assault of a Perth woman by a freed immigration detainee released last November. The detainee in question was not from Gaza.
“We do not want to see that happen again, and we will ask questions,” Tehan said.
The independent member for Warringah, Steggall, stood to speak against the motion, calling it “extremely concerning” and “whipping up a sense of fear”.
Steggall shared a story about Mohammed, who recently arrived in Australia with his young family from Gaza.
Steggall had spoken for less than two minutes before interjections from the opposition benches, including from Dutton, escalated.
“We heard you in silence. You can hear me in silence. Stop being racist!” Steggall said. She later withdrew to assist the House.
“I am offended by the rhetoric from the leader of the opposition, the nature of this suspension of standing orders and the continued attempts to divide the Australian society around these lines and issues,” Steggall said. “We are better than this.”
Dutton responded to the independent MP’s accusation in a 2GB radio interview shortly after. The Liberal leader said the backlash from Steggall “didn’t come as any surprise” because “she’s really a Green, and they hold these extreme views”.
Labor MPs Josh Burns and Sally Sitou both delivered 90-second statements against Dutton’s rhetoric, drawing from their own personal experiences.
Burns, who is of Jewish heritage, said “we do not have an immigration policy based on religion or race. We have not had one for a long time and we should never go back”.
Sitou, the daughter of parents who fled the Vietnam war, said she was appealling to Dutton’s better nature.
“Do not undermine the work of our security agencies because they are doing the important work of security vetting to keep us safe,” she said.
The borders to leave Gaza, and in particular the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border, have been closed for months, meaning there are few opportunities to leave the conflict zone.
The death toll is nearing almost 40,000, many of them women and children, Gaza’s health authority says.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed in question time on Wednesday that 2,922 visas have been granted to Palestinians since 7 October 2023. More than 7,100 have been rejected.
Burke has previously said he is looking at visa pathways to allow Palestinians who fled to Australia to stay longer, saying no country should send people back to Gaza right now.
It is expected the details of such a pathway could be available within weeks.
Dutton earlier revealed he had not consulted with his shadow cabinet before announcing the calls for a temporary, total ban on granting visas to Palestinians.
Dutton told the Nine network on Thursday morning it was “not an issue that goes to shadow cabinet”.
The opposition’s frontbench scrambled to back their leader’s abrupt announcement on Wednesday.
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, told Sky News that Palestinians who fled from Gaza and are now in Australia should have “retrospective” security checks.
The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, later said the Coalition would continue the pause until “peace is restored”.
The Greens senator Sarah HansonYoung said Dutton was not just playing “dog-whistling politics. He’s blowing the foghorn.”
“What I think this shows is he is so unfit to be prime minister because there isn’t, there isn’t a low bar that he won’t go under,” he said on ABC radio. “So low he’ll use the persecution of children to try and win yourself the top job in government.”
The Greens senator had earlier confronted the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, during a press conference, saying “why don’t you say something about the children that are being slaughtered [in Gaza]?”
The workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, said the opposition leader was trying to score a “cheap political point rather than actually listening to that advice about trying to tone down our language and keep the community together”.
Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, Burgess urged politicians “to be care careful about their robust political debate” amid the turbulent times, warning it could “drive violence in our society”.
Dutton’s office was approached for comment.