In brief
- Seven women have now been granted protection in Australia.
- Remaining cohort leaves Australia amid safety fears and coercion claims.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has revealed that department officials did not offer humanitarian visas to all members of the Iranian women’s football delegation, as he confirmed two more women have been granted asylum.
Burke told reporters on Wednesday that one player and a support staff member had indicated they wanted humanitarian visas, which have a pathway to permanent visas, as the remaining cohort left their Gold Coast resort on Tuesday amid protests and headed to the airport under police guard.
The development means seven women involved with the team have now been granted protection, after five players broke free from their Iranian handlers and were granted protection overnight on Tuesday.
Burke said when the team touched down in Sydney before flying out of the country, Home Affairs officials individually took all players and their support people into a room — without minders present — to extend them a similar offer.
The individual meetings, that Burke described as "emotional", gave each woman a choice, following advocates' concerns that the women were being coerced into returning to Iran.
"What we made sure of was there was no rushing, there was no pressure," Burke told reporters in Canberra.
"Ultimately in Sydney, none of those individuals made the decision to take up the offer from Australia."
He said one individual boarded the plane late, with Home Affairs facilitating last-minute calls with family members overseas, but "made their own decision".
Burke also said not all members of the cohort were offered visas.
He did not provide specific details, but said those "trying to actively discourage women from taking up an option" were "not the sort of person who I want to give an option to".
"They're the people who we were quite happy to see leave Australia," he said.
He did not specify whether these were support staff or minders.
"We had to make sure, with a very significant police presence last night, that the people who we were glad to see leave the country made no attempt to intimidate or try to get physically near the people who we were providing a choice for," he added.
The home affairs minister also said that, prior to the delegation arriving in Australia for the tournament, he worked with security agencies to ensure those associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a government-listed terrorist organisation — were not granted visas to enter the country.
"Not everyone who applied for a visa [ahead of the tournament] got one. People who were connected to the IRGC were not granted visas," Burke said.
The Home Affairs Minister welcomed the seven individuals who have decided to make Australia home, stating the nation is "lucky they chose us".
Burke has also been asked by players if he can help get their families out of Iran.
But, he said: "The challenge with Iran is we can't even get Australian citizens, necessarily out of Iran.
"And I was very up-front in my meetings with people, because they'd ask me, 'Can I now help their family members if I help them?'."
After flying out of Sydney, the remaining cohort landed in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday morning.
There are fears for the team's safety on their return to Iran after they were labelled "wartime traitors" by Iranian state media for refusing to sing the national anthem before their opening match.
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