Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question, but I don't thank him for undermining the position of the director-general of ASIO. I don't thank him for that, because, no matter where a person comes from or what visas they hold, our security agencies are involved in the process. We trust their expertise. We take the same advice from the same security agencies—even the same security personnel—as the previous government.

Now, we have rejected more than 7,000 visa applications. There are around 1,300 people who have come here from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I remind the member that the Rafah border crossing is controlled by the Israeli and Egyptian authorities.

Let's be clear about what's happening here. That border crossing closed in May. Did they say anything about it in May, in June, in July, in the beginning of August? There was not a peep from the member for Page, who's so passionate about this issue that he's now had multiple questions about this.

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