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THE HON TONY BURKE MP
MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
MINISTER FOR CYBER SECURITY
MINISTER FOR THE ARTS
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
TRANSCRIPT
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
SUBJECTS: COMMENTS OF ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ON AUSTRALIAN RECOGNITION OF
PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD, VISA CANCELLATION POLICY, AUSTRALIA-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP.
WEDNESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2025
SALLY SARA: Sally Sara with you on Breakfast. Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has denounced Anthony Albanese as a weak politician who has abandoned
Australian Jews and betrayed Israel. It follows Israel’s decision earlier this week to revoke
visas for Australia’s representatives for – to the Palestinian Authority after Australia’s
decision to recognise a Palestinian state and to cancel visas for Israeli figures.
Tony Burke is the Minister for Home Affairs and joins me now. Minister, welcome back to
Breakfast.
TONY BURKE: Hi, Sally.
SALLY SARA: What’s the government’s response to these comments, these latest
comments, from the Israeli Prime Minister?
TONY BURKE: Look, this is a lashing out where it’s happened to a number of countries that
have come forward saying that they’ll be recognising a Palestinian state. There’s been a
lashing out against the UK, against France, against Canada, against Norway, against Ireland,
against Spain.
But on the issue of the – that you go to particularly there about strength versus weakness,
strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you
can leave hungry. Strength is much better measured by exactly what Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there’s a decision that we know Israel won’t like,
he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu, he has the conversation, he says exactly what
we’re intending to do and has the chance for the objections to be made person to person.
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And then having heard them, makes the public announcement and does what needs to be
done, which is to say to – without in any way compromising the longstanding view that
every hostage needs to be released, without compromising the view that Hamas is a
terrorist organisation which must play no role in a future Palestinian state, but to say to the
Palestinian people – who at the moment must be feeling so invisible to the world – to say
you are not invisible, we see you, we will recognise you and that we will take the action that
Australia has always believed needed to be taken, which is that we have two states – an
Israeli state and a Palestinian state – both secure, both recognised, both safe.
SALLY SARA: Minister, Sky News has this morning published a letter from Benjamin
Netanyahu to Anthony Albanese which accuses Mr Albanese of appeasement and pouring
fuel on antisemitism. Have you seen the letter, and what do you know about it?
TONY BURKE: No. No, I haven’t. So – but part of the reference to antisemitism can I say that
has been made earlier went to visa cancellations that are within my responsibility. So, I can
certainly respond to that part if you want me to.
SALLY SARA: With this letter, you’re saying that there’s been a lashing out against other
countries. To the government’s knowledge, have similar letters been sent to other leaders?
TONY BURKE: Wel , I just told you I wasn’t aware of the one that’s been sent to us, so I’m
not in a position to be able to answer that.
SALLY SARA: You’re not aware of it, or you haven’t actually seen the letter?
TONY BURKE: No, no, the – I’m not aware of the letter. I’m aware of what was put out
publicly on social media. I got up early this morning. I’ve driven myself in. I’ve been listening
to your program. I haven’t heard reference to the letter.
SALLY SARA: Has the Prime Minister sent any reply, to your knowledge?
TONY BURKE: Well, the response that was immediately made – the response that was
immediately made – to what was said publicly was made by the Foreign Minister Penny
Wong, where she made clear not only our rejection of what was being put out publicly by
Prime Minister Netanyahu, but also to make clear that it is not in Israel’s interests for them
to be isolating themselves. And what we are seeing with some of the actions they’re taking
is a form of continued isolation of Israel from the world, and that is not in their interests
either.
SALLY SARA: What do you think about these specific terms that have been used in this letter
of appeasement and pouring fuel on anti-semitism?
TONY BURKE: Well, can I go specifically to the references to that, which have been referring
to visa cancel ations that have been within my role. The two visa cancel ations they’ve taken
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particular objection to were one to a former Israeli minister and one to a current member of
the parliament within the Knesset. If I just give two simple examples of what each of them
have said. One has described Israeli children as the enemy – Israeli children as the enemy.
And the other –
SALLY SARA: Are you talking about Palestinian children or –
TONY BURKE: Sorry, I apologise. I apologise, you’re right. One of them has described
Palestinian children as the enemy. And the other has described Palestinian children as little
snakes – as little snakes. Now, if anyone wanted to come on a public speaking tour and they
had those views publicly expressed about Israeli children, I would block the visa. And I am
going to not have a lower bar for the protection of views that are bigoted views against the
Palestinian people.
I take the role very seriously in Australia that we have a power, or I have a power and my
delegates in the department have a power under the Migration Act to block people from
coming here if we think they were incite discord. Now –
SALLY SARA: The Shadow Foreign Minister Michaelia Cash says your visa decision is absurd
and reckless – and it’s reckless to recognise a Palestinian state. What do you think of that
criticism from the shadow foreign minister?
TONY BURKE: Wel , the recognition of a Palestinian state, you know, you can only go
through the reasons that have been given by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister
and, in particular, the concept that if we don’t recognise now, the plans that some people
have wil mean there may not be a Palestine to recognise in the future. And if you believe in
there being a two-state solution, then the time to recognise is now.
Secondly, though, the claims from Michaelia Cash rejecting the visa decisions in the quote
you just gave, you know, when I gave the rejection of Candace Owens, she never objected
to that. When I gave the rejection of Kanye West, she never objected to that. It seems that
the Coalition only believe I should be rejecting people if they wil cause harm to the Jewish
community and not if they will cause harm to the Palestinian or Muslim community. I have a
strong view that no matter who you are in Australia you have a right to feel safe and to be
safe. And I also have a view that words can be bul ets.
Now, you know, I can’t stop what comes into people through news shows. I can’t stop what
reaches people over the internet. But I do have a personal responsibility as to whether or
not Australia formally holds out a welcome mat to people with extreme views and says
come and express them here. And there are two things – two things – that Australians do
not want: first, they don’t want the kil ing to continue on the other side of the world, and
that’s why we cal for ceasefire and that’s why we make the decisions that we’ve made. And
secondly, they do not want the conflict and the hatreds brought here. And I make no
apology for being consistent as to whether someone has a dehumanising view of Jewish
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children or Palestinian children, I will make the same decision and say, “If you want to come
here on a public speaking tour, choose a different country. We don’t need to import that
bigotry.”
SALLY SARA: Minister, on the issue of right-wing Israeli politician Simcha Rotman’s
comments cal ing for the destruction of Hamas, was that one of the grounds for your
decision to cancel that visa?
TONY BURKE: I’m glad you’ve asked that, because there’s some mischievous commentary in
some of the papers today. There is a section that refers to the reasons that my delegate in
the department used to make the decision. Some of those – some of what then fol ows is
simply descriptive – his view on Hamas, the fact that he’s a politician, his professional
qualifications. Some of it’s just straight the party that he’s in, some of it is just straight
descriptive. Other parts of it go to the most extreme views that he has. And it’s the example
of the most extreme views, some of which I’ve already referred to in this interview that –
SALLY SARA: But is cal ing for the destruction of Hamas, is that one of the grounds?
TONY BURKE: Of course not. Of course not. And just look at the number of people – you
know, the number of people – with that exact view who we give visas to in Australia. Like,
obviously it’s not. And that’s why I’m glad you’ve put it to me because it’s a ridiculous claim
that’s in the papers today where it’s a misreading of the decision. And some of what fol ows
in that paragraph is simply descriptive of his views and consistent with many people who we
let into the country, and some of it is quite extreme views which are not consistently held
across the country.
SALLY SARA: Let’s have a look at the relationship between Australia and Israel. The Leader
of the Opposition Sussan Ley says the relationship, the bilateral relationship, is now in
tatters and this latest development is “a troubling diplomatic incident”. Do you believe
we’re now at the lowest point in relations between Australia and Israel for some time?
TONY BURKE: There are many layers of cooperation that happen with Israel, including in my
own role as Minister for Home Affairs. There are many layers of cooperation that occur that
keep people safe that is valuable, that continues, and I would be stunned because – if it ever
slowed down because it wouldn’t be in the interests of –
SALLY SARA: But I bring you back to the question: is it at a low point now? Is that fair to say?
TONY BURKE: Look, there’s clearly some very serious differences between the two
countries. Clearly. You know, I – and most of this interview has been dedicated to that.
What is happening in Gaza is beyond belief, and, you know, you – no-one should ever
sacrifice their principles of humanity when they give way to their rage. And I understand the
rage of Israel fol owing October 7. October 7 was disgraceful, disgusting, there are breaches
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of humanitarian law everywhere that happened from Hamas that day. None of that is the
fault of starving Palestinian children.
SALLY SARA: Would there be any assurances that would convince you to reconsider or
reinstate the visa for the Israeli right-wing politician Simcha Rotman?
TONY BURKE: Not for a public speaking tour, that I can imagine. You know, these decisions,
once made, if he asked for it to be reviewed, then one of the assistant ministers would
review it. I’d be surprised if he did. Ayelet Shaked when her visa was first rejected by the
department asked for it to be reviewed. I did it personal y. I came down with the same
decision. The reasons, I added a few to what the department had, but, you know, the –
there is a legal right that anyone has if they want to ask for a reconsideration. Obviously
because I’ve done this interview this morning I’ve made my views very clear, so I wouldn’t
be the decision-maker; I’d get an assistant minister to do it. But the reasons for this visa
cancellation I can say are absolutely consistent with what we have done when we have
rejected visas for speaking tours from people who might have the exact opposite view in
terms of the conflict but an identical view in terms of their willingness to dehumanise other
people.
SALLY SARA: When we look at social cohesion here in Australia, in July 2024 Peter Khalil was
appointed as Special Envoy for Social Cohesion. Is it correct that that role has been
scrapped? Do you intend to bring it back? And we’re also seeing reports that not one report
was filed by Peter Khalil during that time.
TONY BURKE: Look, I worked very closely with Peter Khalil during that time, and whether
there’s written reports or not don’t change the fact that you have the regular meetings and
you work together on the sharing of the load. The thing that happened with the restructure
was Multicultural Affairs was elevated in Anne Aly to becoming a second member of cabinet
within the Home Affairs portfolio. So instead of having an envoy, we have the multicultural
affairs, and that part – you know, the social cohesion part work is largely shared between
myself and Anne. But we’ve got an additional cabinet minister there. And Anne’s doing a
phenomenal job.
SALLY SARA: Minister, we’ll need to leave it there. Thank you for your time this morning.
TONY BURKE: Great to be back.
SALLY SARA: Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs.
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THE HON TONY BURKE MP
MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
MINISTER FOR CYBER SECURITY
MINISTER FOR THE ARTS
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
TRANSCRIPT
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SUBJECTS: BLOCKED VISA OF ISRAELI POLITICIAN, RISING ANTI-SEMITISM.
WEDNESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2025
HAMISH MACDONALD: Now, presumably you wil have caught this in the news this morning
in a social media post, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called out Prime
Minister Anthony Albanese, a 'weak leader' who has betrayed Israel. It comes after Australia
announced that it would recognise Palestinian statehood in September, but also a decision
by the Home Affairs Minister to refuse to grant visas to a number of high-profile Israeli
politicians, including a current serving Israeli politician called Simcha Rothman, who was due
to visit schools and synagogues here in Sydney. The Home Affairs Minister is Tony Burke.
He's also the MP for Watson in southwestern Sydney. I spoke to him a short time ago.
Tony Burke, good morning.
TONY BURKE: G'day. Good to be with you.
HAMISH MACDONALD: What is your response to the commentary from Benjamin
Netanyahu calling our Prime Minister 'weak,' particularly in relation to not just recognising a
Palestinian state, but also the visa decision, which you're more closely involved with?
TONY BURKE: Yeah, that one's me. Look, first of all, there's a lashing out that the Israeli
Prime Minister has been doing against a number of countries that have decided that they're
recognising Palestine. So, UK, France, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Norway, there's been similar,
not identical, but similar lashing out. In terms of the claim of strength versus weakness.
Strength isn't measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you
can make go hungry. I think the better measure of strength is to look at Prime Minister
Albanese as going - knowing that he was going to make, or heading towards making a
decision that Israel would not like with respect to Palestinian recognition and what did he
do? He made the strong option. He rang Prime Minister Netanyahu and had the
conversation person to person, made it clear what our reasons were, what we were
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considering, and faced the difficult conversation and then went ahead and announced what
we would do after a period of time of further consultation. And in making that
announcement, did something where he never compromised, never compromised on some
fundamental principles, about the need for hostages to be released, about the need for
Israel to be able to be secure, but said the cost of that can't be that Palestine is not secure,
consistent with our principle for the two-state solution. But also, of al the people in the
world right now, the Palestinian people must feel so invisible, must just feel so invisible and
to have a series of nations now saying, we see you, we see the injustice in what's happening
to you at the moment, and we will recognise you. That matters.
HAMISH MACDONALD: The substance of the assertion, though, from Netanyahu, goes to
the question of whether recognising Palestinian statehood now is a capitulation to Hamas,
which wanted this outcome when it conducted the October 7 attacks.
TONY BURKE: Wel , what they want is a single state, and that's what Australia is not
supporting, and that's what the world is not supporting. So, you look at what Hamas want,
they certainly don't want two states. They certainly don't want our position, which is in the
Palestinian state, Hamas should have nothing to do with it. They don't want our position,
which is that they are a terrorist organisation. So, there'll be different attempts from Hamas
at propaganda. But the reality is, if you look at what they want, what we are offering is a
very, very different thing, but is consistent with what Australia's aim has been for a very
long time. And as you know, as Penny Wong said, if we don't recognise now, we could end
up, given what some in the Israeli Government want to do, we could end up with a situation
where there is no Palestine left to recognise.
HAMISH MACDONALD: Do you think the Prime Minister's weak? Obviously, some members
of the Jewish community here in Sydney see this as a weak position.
TONY BURKE: Wel , as I say, the strong position is to do exactly what the Prime Minister did.
The strong position is that - you can hide from the people who you're about to disagree
with, or you can pick up the phone and you deal with them directly. You can. You can cow to
what some of the tabloid media wil do when you know what their response is going to be.
Or you can say, no, I see injustice, I see a role for Australia and we're going to play it. There's
a limit to how significant our role is on the other side of the world, although with respect to
the visa decision, asked about me at the top, which I haven't got to yet, but with respect to
that, that part of it is entirely, entirely within our control.
HAMISH MACDONALD: So, Simcha Rothman is the name of the Israeli politician who's been
subject to this decision. He was due to visit Sydney, a number of Jewish schools, synagogues
were set to host him. The organising body said that this was to deal with, show solidarity to
Jewish Australians facing a wave of anti-Semitism. How do you explain the decision to
prevent an elected politician from another country, with which Australia up until now has
had strong relations, prevent them from coming here and speaking in a public setting?
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TONY BURKE: I've got a power under the Migration Act where if I believe that somebody is
going to - or there's a serious risk that they're going to incite discord in the Australian
community, that I can block the visa. And I've been doing that on both sides of this
particular debate. I do think social cohesion in Australia has been under extraordinary
pressure, under extraordinary pressure. And I can't stop news organisations, for example,
from interviewing people who wil incite discord. I can't stop what comes through on the
Internet. But I do have a power as to whether someone has the legitimacy of an Australian
visa. Now, if someone's just visiting back and forth, I use a much lower standard. If someone
is coming for the purpose of making public statements, and I don't obviously get notice
personally of every individual, but where myself and my delegates are aware of previous
public statements that that person's made, then we have to work on the basis that that may
wel be part of their public speaking tour.
HAMISH MACDONALD. So, what would you have worried about if you were to have come
here to Sydney and made these speeches? What's the lived, I suppose, reaction that you
feel may happen that would justify saying, actual y, no, you can't come to this country?
TONY BURKE: There are two Israeli politicians, one former Minister, Eilat Shaked, and then
this individual, Mr Rothman, who a current sitting member, not a Minister, but a member of
the Knesset. They've both had similar comments, which I find horrific. This gentleman has
described Palestinian children as the enemy. Ms Shaked described Palestinian children as
little snakes. Now, I work on the basis that I start with, what would our view be if it were the
opposite? If someone were to want to describe Jewish children as some form of reptile or as
the enemy, would I let that person in? And the answer is no, not for a public speaking tour.
HAMISH MACDONALD: And you said you have barred people with the opposite views from
coming. Are there examples that you can point to?
TONY BURKE: Yeah, look, each of these ones, I have tended to not put their name in the
public arena unless they've chosen to put their name in the public arena. The two that are in
the public arena on the other side of the argument very much have been Candace Owens
and Kanye West have been the two. Now, Kanye West was actual y a visitor visa. He wasn't
coming on a public speaking tour. But my view was that the Heil Hitler song and straight of
Nazism just went to such an extent that even a visit of visa wasn't appropriate.
HAMISH MACDONALD: You represent a diverse seat in Western Sydney. Can you describe
what the nature of, I guess, community sentiment is right now? You've referred to sort of
discord, disharmony in Australia generally. Here in Sydney, how would you describe it right
now?
TONY BURKE: One of the great chal enges we've got right now is people - people sometimes
feeling alone and people feeling that they wanting to know whether or not they've got the
backing of their government. You and I wil go through our lives in Australia without ever
receiving religious or racial discrimination, but that's not true of almost any of my
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neighbours where I am. And words can be bullets and one of the worst things when this sort
of bigotry arrives and is amplified is people feel isolated and wonder whether that's
everyone's view.
HAMISH MACDONALD: I mean, members of the Jewish community here in Sydney are
saying that's how they feel now that they don't have the government's back.
TONY BURKE: Absolutely. And that's why --
HAMISH MACDONALD: Sorry, that the government doesn't have their back.
TONY BURKE: Yeah. That's why when the east Melbourne synagogue fire happened, it
happened late on a Friday. So, on the - by the time I knew about was about the Sabbath had
started, so I couldn't actual y cal anyone. So, Skye and my wife and I, we just flew down to
Melbourne, waited until people turned their phones on in the evening and said, do you
want to see a tomorrow. So, that immediately I could physically be there present, not simply
in solidarity with the Jewish community over that horrific anti-Semitic attack, but also to be
able to make clear to the nation that these attacks are an attack on Australia when in a
multicultural nation, you attack any part of us because of who we are, and that is an attack
on the nation itself. And any chance I get to get that message out, I'l do it. Whether it's
turning up after a horrific attack like that or whether it's blocking a visa from somebody who
wants to incite discord in Australia.
HAMISH MACDONALD. So, you do say to Jewish Australians, Sydneysiders, that as a
government, you do have their back?
TONY BURKE: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And I say to everyone, including the people
listening right now, you should never blame other members of the Australian community for
the horrific views you see on the other side of the world. There are tropes that affect - that
affect so many different communities. There are Jewish tropes about conspiracy theories
that then link in and people blame people in Australia for what they see the government of
Israel doing. That is wrong. And similarly, there's a trope against Muslim Australians trying
to link them to terrorism. That is wrong. And so, when I see people wanting to apply to
come here where the purpose of their visit is to espouse their views, then I'm going to have
a look at those views. As Australians here, there's freedom of speech on the airwaves,
media organisations will choose who they want, but I can send a signal about whether or
not someone's got the welcome mat out from the Australian Government. And, you know -
and I think drawing those hard lines also allows us to keep the public support for some really
good, compassionate things that we're doing. Out of parts of Gaza and parts of Israel at the
moment, we've had both Palestinians and Israelis seek refuge in Australia as a safer place to
live. And we don't talk about it a lot, but we've been providing humanitarian visas for some
people, they've now found their way to become permanent residents in Australia. We are
able to do that on the basis that people can have the confidence that when it's hatred that
someone wants to bring here, we draw a real y sharp line, because that's not who we are.
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HAMISH MACDONALD: Tony Burke, good to see you.
TONY BURKE: Great to be back.
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Document 3
From:
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To:
DLO.Hill
Cc:
MO Registration; Home Affairs Media
Subject:
FOR UPLOAD | AM Hill Sky News Interview Transcript Upload [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Date:
Wednesday, 20 August 2025 3:53:04 PM
Attachments:
AM Hill Transcript of Interview, Sky News First Edition.pdf
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon all,
I hope you’re well. Would you like the attached transcript of Assistant Minister Hill’s
interview on Sky News from this morning uploaded to his webpage?
Many thanks,
s. 22(1)(a)(ii)
|
s. 22(1)(a)(ii)
Public Affairs Officer | Media and Social Media
Media and Communication Branch
Executive Coordination Division | Executive Group
Department of Home Affairs
E: s. 22(1)(a)(ii) @homeaffairs.gov.au |
E: xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Media Line: 02 6264 2244 (s. 22(1)(a)(ii))
OFFICIAL
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TELEVISION TRANSCRIPT
PREPARED: WEDNESDAY 20 AUGUST 2025
TITLE: AM HILL - SKY NEWS FIRST EDITION - 20/08
SUMMARY: AM HILL - SKY NEWS FIRST EDITION - 20/08
CHANNEL: SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA
PROGRAM: FIRST EDITION
DATE BROADCAST: 20 AUGUST 2025
TIME BROADCAST: 7:49 AM - 7:57 AM
Transcription
Peter Stefanovic: Well, it's hard to remember a diplomatic stoush involving an Australian Prime Minister as brutal
and as public as the one he right now faces with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. And it escalated several notches
overnight as Netanyahu branded Albanese as weak. Joining us live, Labor MP Julian Hill and the Liberal MP this
morning, Phil Thompson. Good morning to you both. Start with you, Julian. What's the government's response to
this?
Julian Hill: Well, Mr. Netanyahu has behaved like this before to other world leaders. You've got to see it in context.
At times he goes off the handle and throws around these kind of insults. But I'll just make three points. Firstly, and
importantly, Jewish Australians are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government or Mr. Netanyahu's
words. I say that because it's really important that with the community tensions that continue with this conflict, this
horrific situation. Jewish Australians are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. I'm going to a
Shabbat dinner proudly on Friday night and we need to wrap our arms around our Jewish Australian friends,
colleagues, just as we do around people impacted in the Palestinian community. The second point I'd make, and it's a
distinction that I think we've talked about before, Pete, a distinction between Australia's long standing support for the
State of Israel, for the security of the State of Israel, and, and the Israeli government, the current Israeli government.
The fact is many Israelis do not support the words and actions of Mr. Netanyahu. You can see that from the massive
increasing protests right across Israel against his government. And many Jewish Australians do not support the
words or actions of Mr. Netanyahu and his government. That's a well known fact. The community is diverse. Jewish
Australians have a right to their view, whether they agree with Mr. Netanyahu or not. The third point I'd make back to
where I started. Mr. Netanyahu has done this kind of thing before. He's behaved like this to other world leaders. Look,
to be honest, I think it's pretty sad and disappointing. Increasingly, he does appear, as many world leaders have said,
to be detached from reality about the horrific humanitarian situation in Gaza. Many former leaders in Israel have
questioned the lack of a strategy to end the war. And many have said it's a really worrying situation when the current
Israeli government that includes extremists in their cabinet who've been sanctioned by multiple countries in the world
risk leading Israel further into diplomatic isolation. That is not what we want. So, Australia's support, our relationship
with Israel continues.
Peter Stefanovic: Well, let's go to you, Daniel.
Julian Hill: Not necessarily at all times, you know, every government.
Peter Stefanovic: Your, your reaction to this? I mean, Julian's right. There is growing discontent in parts of Israel and
Albanese wasn't alone. Macron also got a letter overnight too. Does that lessen its impact at all?
Phil Thompson: Well, good morning to you and to Julian. And on Julian's first point, I agree with the whole of
supporting those in Australia who are affected by the war that is happening there. I don't think that the Prime
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Minister's announcing a statehood of Palestine is going to stop the war. I do think it's going to provide it, provide a
little bit of tension between strategic partnerships and allies that we had. I don't want to see any or our Prime Minister
of any colour of shirt wake up in the morning and be chastised publicly by other world leaders. That is not good for
our nation. We've seen, like Julian highlighted, Netanyahu has done this now to, to a couple of other world leaders.
But I don't like that for Australia and to have these tensions, growing tensions that will are only bubbling within our
communities. I don't think it is good for our nation, and it provides uncertainty for what the future will look like. And I
do think that this will only compound tensions that are happening around the world.
Peter Stefanovic. So, just on, I'll stay with you here, Phil. So, just on, some of the words that Netanyahu has used
here is Albanese fuelling the fire of anti Semitism in this country. I mean the allegation, I suppose there is that he's
doing it on his own with his policies. Do you agree with that point or not?
Phil Thompson: What I agree with is I think this is the wrong time to be announcing the statehood of Palestine
because of what is happening in the Middle East. You don't design natural disaster policy during the natural disaster
and doing this during a war and during this crisis I think is bad public policy and that's why these tensions are
happening. I often criticise the Prime Minister. I've done it when in government and when he was the leader of the
Opposition and now in opposition when he's Prime Minister. But I don't like to see this happening and I feel for the
Jewish community throughout this, throughout our beautiful country who are waking up this morning hearing about
this, seeing it on. On X and feeling, you know, not. Not the support that they may have thought that they had.
Peter Stefanovic. So, what, what, what happens now, Julian, to get the relationship with our ally back on track? I
mean, does Penny Wong have to sit down with the ambassador, the Israeli ambassador here, and perhaps overturn
these visa bans? Because that seems to be at the heart of the escalation this week.
Julian Hill: Well, the government's been clear and consistent and Tony Burke has been absolutely crystal clear that if
you want to come to Australia to spread hate and division, whether you're far right or far left or just, you know,
populists seeking attention, whatever it may be, then you won't get a visa. Non citizens are held to a higher standard.
That's the government's view. And I think whether you agree with every decision or not, you couldn't fault Tony Burke
as the Home affairs and Immigration Minister, for having a tough, consistent view on this. There's been multiple
examples now across the board. So, you know, we're not going to take the bait. We're not going to fall into the trap of
having Australia's chain yanked by extreme rhetoric from, you know, unfortunately, a foreign leader who's got form on
this, who behaves like this on occasion. We'll operate in the national interest. We'll do it calmly. And, you know, I
appreciate the fact that, you know, Phil was kind of in a bit of a difficult position there, but I do not believe you could
fault the Australian government for support for the Jewish community and pushing back on anti Semitism. Right.
We've been absolutely clear and consistent on this and will continue to be so.
Peter Stefanovic: Alright, so just to close here, I've got about 30 seconds left, Phil, but do you agree with that point
that the government has done enough to placate both sides locally?
Phil Thompson: No. And just on Julian's point around not allowing a leader to come here for comments about the
destruction or getting rid of Hamas, which is a listed terrorist organisation.
Julian Hill: No, that's. That's nonsense. That is just verbaling. That is not what I said. Don't verbal me, Phil. Don't
make stuff up. I didn't say that. Phil, you're out of your depth now.
Phil Thompson: You just said Tony Burke's position. But you just said. You said Tony on stopping a visa. So. And
about a world leader, mate. So, I think that those reasons.
Julian Hill: I think you're making comments around Hamas.
Phil Thompson: No, no, this is what he did. And yeah, I don't think it was the right decision.
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Peter Stefanovic: Ok, we'll have to leave it there. Gentlemen. We'll see you, Julian. See you, Phil. Talk to you next
time.
End
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