Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for North Sydney for her question and for her advocacy on this issue with my office and more broadly in the community. The images every day out of Gaza affect all of us in this place and in the other place, and responding to that is a key focus of the Australian government. With that in mind I have been consistently engaging with representative bodies of the Palestinian community on this issue and on other related issues. I can advise the member and advise the House that I am continuing to do so.

I can also say that all people who have arrived in Australia from the occupied Palestinian territories are presently able to access a bridging visa E, which will grant them work rights and access to Medicare. The same offer currently applies to arrivals from the Ukraine. This is an offer that has been directly communicated to those Palestinian bodies and to many Palestinians, as well as to those legal services that are engaged in supporting many in that community and in other refugee and like refugee communities. It is up to all individuals to determine a visa pathway that is appropriate for their circumstances, and, I should say, of course, all people who apply for a visa of whatever type have to meet the requirements of the Migration Act. As all members would appreciate, everyone seeking to obtain a visa to come to Australia knows that that application needs to be considered on its individual merit.

The issue of visas is very important, and the supports that go with them, but so too is recognising the impact this conflict has more broadly on communities right across Australia. I'm very proud of the efforts across the government, led by the Prime Minister, to support affected communities, whether it's supports delivered by my friend the Minister for Education in school settings, recognising the particular impact of young people; the work done in the health and mental health space; the work across a whole range of initiatives—

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