After falsely accusing Labor of fast-tracking Australian citizenship for people who fled Gaza to win votes in marginal seats, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he’s asking “pretty reasonable questions”.
Speaking to Nine’s Today, Dutton was asked about the government’s move to grant 12,500 people citizenship in a series of 25 ceremonies that the Home Affairs Department will hold across Australia by March 4.
At a Sky News summit on antisemitism on Thursday, Dutton suggested that among those new citizens would be people fleeing Gaza, a legal impossibility given applicants must be lawful residents of Australia for four years before they can apply for Australian citizenship, precluding any people who arrived in the country later than 2020.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Further, Home Affairs sources said no Palestinians had been granted citizenship in the cohort of 12,500, and aside from one family granted permanent visas, all the Gazans who have come to Australia since October 2023 are on temporary visas.
“Knowing that it’s territory controlled by a listed terrorist organisation, why would you expressly push people through the process to receive citizenship in advance of an election, which is pending?” Dutton said at the summit.
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Dutton wasn’t asked about these specific comments when speaking to Today, instead, he spoke more generally about the need to know “what [Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke] is up to” with the additional citizenship ceremonies.
“Obviously, trying to put people into marginal seats, there’s this branch-stacking allegation going on. So I just think transparency and tell us what you’re doing,” Dutton said.
Home Affairs said the department-held events were intended to supplement ceremonies in council areas where there were large numbers of approved applicants, to help clear citizenship backlogs.
Asked if he therefore believes the new citizens, mostly from India and New Zealand according to the Department of Home Affairs, wouldn’t vote for him, Dutton said he thought they would be smart enough to “see through Tony Burke”.
“I just think Tony Burke’s departed from what would be a normal practice on the eve of the election. And I think they’re pretty reasonable questions.”
