Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. People within my electorate who have family in Gaza have been advised the quickest way to get them out is to apply for a visitor visa, yet, according to Senate estimates, 4,614 people applying for this visa from this area have been refused since 7 October, including my constituent's family members. Given our country's actions when it came to other recent conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan, why hasn't our government established a clear pathway for people to bring their families from Gaza to safety here in Australia?

Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to 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—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause. I'm going to call the member for North Sydney on a point of order.

Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With respect, to the minister, it's on relevance. The question was specifically related to: given the case of other wars, like war in Ukraine and war in Afghanistan, where there were specific pathways established for humanitarian visas, that's not been the case when it comes to Palestine. Why is the government not doing that?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question was around, 'Why hasn't the government established a clear way for people to bring out family members?' The member is raising a point of order, but the minister is being very directly relevant in talking about the subject topic. He's not deviating away from the subject matter but he has 48 seconds remaining to conclude his answer and make sure he is being directly relevant.

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

For the benefit of the member for North Sydney and all members: at the start of my answer I said we are continuing to engage with community members on this issue. I was also going through the range of supports the government is putting in place and will continue to put in place to recognise the challenge to social cohesion that is presented by the impacts of this conflict on communities right across the Australian community. The visa issue is very important to the member and many other members. So too are the impacts, whether it is impacts on mental health or other impacts on individuals in the Australian community—citizens as well as people who arrive here on visas. All these things are important to me. All these things are a focus for the Albanese government.