ASIO boss Mike Burgess says Gaza visa comments misrepresented after political firestorm

[Pelican Press 0]

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ASIO boss Mike Burgess says Gaza visa comments misrepresented after political firestorm

ASIO head Mike Burgess has clarified his position on the visa vetting process for people escaping war-torn Gaza, confirming an individual’s support for ********** group ****** “will be a problem”.

The spy boss found himself at the centre of a political storm last month after suggesting mere “rhetorical support” for ****** might not prevent refugees from obtaining an *********** visa.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton soon after called for a temporary ban on people from Gaza entering Australia amid concerns about gaps in the vetting process.

“It was not our policy in Government to bring people in who were sympathisers of a listed ********** organisation,” Mr Dutton said at the time.

In a rare media interview conducted with the ABC, Mr Burgess said his comments had been misrepresented.

“I’ve watched with interest over the last couple of weeks how people have chosen to distort what I said,” Mr Burgess told ABC’s 7.30 program.

“I said that if you support a ************ homeland that may not discount you (from entering Australia) because that by itself is not a problem.

“But I also said if you have a violent extremist ideology, or you provide material or financial support to a ********** organisation, that will be a problem.

“If you think terrorism is OK, if you think the destruction of the state of ******* is OK, if you think ****** and what they did on the 7th of October is OK, I can tell you that is not OK, and from an ASIO security assessment point of view, you will not pass muster.”

The spy agency conducts security assessments on individuals after referrals from Home Affairs.

Mr Burgess said an individual’s online activity formed part of the assessment.

“Is it a one-off comment? If it’s a tweet that actually — or reinforcement or liking of a tweet — that says the 7th of October was acceptable, that’s going to be a problem for that person,” he said.

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