Q: Just on national security more broadly, is it still your plan to introduce questions about anti-Semitism into the citizenship test? Would you re-vet the 2,000-odd people who have come from Gaza who you said didn’t have proper security checks and would you move to recognise the capital of Israel as West Jerusalem?

Dutton:

On the first two yes, in relation to the last one, we don’t have any plans to change the current arrangements. What is interesting at the moment is you have got the Prime Minister who is pretending again and if you believe this, you will believe anything, that he had no idea who this anti-Semitic candidate was that he is now preferencing. (To be clear, the Greens candidate has been critical of the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza, where at least 50,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, as a result of Israel’s on-going bombardment of the Gaza strip, where people can not leave. Israel has also stopped all aid and food and water from entering Gaza, with famine and disease the direct result)

Dutton:

The Prime Minister owes an explanation to the public about exactly why they are preferencing anti-Semitic – the Jewish community, anti-Semitic candidates, the Jewish community is alarmed at what Labor is doing. (Many in the Jewish community have echoed similar concerns at Israel’s policies and would be considered anti-Semitic under Dutton’s definition) We won’t compromise on border security. We have been clear about that. Our nation is the greatest in the world. We welcome migrants coming to our country. 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.

Q: The people were vetted when they exited the Rafah border crossing by Israel, they were vetted. Don’t you trust our security agencies or allies?

Dutton:

We will take advice and conduct proper security checks.

Those checks have been done. There is no population on earth who have as much information held about them by security agencies, than Palestinians. In order to leave Gaza (and we are talking about the beginning of Israel’s assault on the civilian population, which began 18 months ago) people had to be able to pass Israel’s checks, as well as Australia’s. Everyone who has arrived in Australia has gone thorugh the proper vetting. The only people claiming checks were not done is the Coalition who has repeatedly tried to raise racist and xenophobic fears, even as security agencies called for calm heads and for leaders to watch what they say.