A Coalition government would reassess the security clearances of Palestinians who have arrived from Gaza, Peter Dutton says, and would reinstate a contentious Morrison-era move recognising West Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
On Wednesday, the Opposition leader also confirmed to reporters a government he leads would introduce antisemitism questions on Australia's citizenship test.
Dutton has previously said Palestinians leaving war-torn Gaza should not be allowed to enter Australia due to concerns that visitor visas were being issued without thorough vetting for links to Hamas — a view one Palestinian advocacy group labelled "racist politicking".
"We welcome migrants coming to our country," Dutton told reporters while campaigning in Perth on Wednesday.
"We have the most successful migration program, but we won't compromise on those settings which provide screening of people who are coming in from a war zone."
The Department of Home Affairs received 10,644 visa applications from Palestinians between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024. It rejected 7,268 applications and approved 2,999.
It said there had been 1,732 Palestinian arrivals, in figures provided to SBS News in mid-October last year.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told SBS Arabic in December more than 800 Palestinians on tourist visas had been granted work, Medicare and study rights as the government sped up processing of humanitarian visas — a move that ended more than a year in limbo for these people.
It emerged in September last year that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the nation's top spy agency, was given a list of 2,601 Palestinian visa holders in March for security checks.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess also said in November there has been no link between the conflict in the Gaza Strip and terror incidents in Australia.
When asked whether he did not trust Australia's security agencies or allies — given that Palestinians leaving Gaza had been vetted when exiting via the border crossing with Egypt — Dutton said: "We will take advice and conduct proper security checks."
Coalition would recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel
Also on Wednesday, Dutton suggested he had no plans to reinstate a decision by former prime minister Scott Morrison that recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel — a move that was reversed when Labor came to power in 2022.
"We don't have any plans to change the current arrangements," he said.
But a spokesperson for the Opposition leader clarified he meant the Coalition had no plans to change its current position, which is to recognise West Jerusalem.
The spokesperson said this was outlined in a speech by Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman in a speech to The Sydney Institute in March.
"When Labor announced its shambolic decision in 2022, the Coalition expressed its strong opposition and affirmed that our position remained that West Jerusalem is the capital of Israel," Coleman said at the time. "This continues to be our position."
Morrison's 2018 decision followed a similar move by United States President Donald Trump's first administration a year earlier, although Australia's embassy remained in Tel Aviv.
The status of Jerusalem is a strong sticking point in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Australian government says it is a "final status issue" as part of any two-state solution peace negotiations.
The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network condemned Dutton's remarks on Wednesday, with the group's president Nasser Mashni accusing the Coalition of "scapegoating" Palestinians and "pandering" to Israel.
The Hamas-Israel war escalated on 7 October 2023 after Hamas — the Palestinian military and political group — launched an attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and some 250 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Clarification: A previous version of this article stated that the Coalition has no plans to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This article has been updated to reflect that it would recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital if it formed government following the 2025 federal election, after more information came to light.
Visit the SBS election portal to access articles, podcasts and videos from SBS News, NITV and our teams covering more than 60 languages.
