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

ASIO boss Mike Burgess says explicitly supporting Hamas – such as “liking” a tweet endorsing the October 7 massacre – will be a “problem” for Gazan refugees trying to obtain Australian visas, clarifying earlier comments he claims were distorted.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton continue to trade barbs over the visa vetting process, with each accusing the other of undermining the authority of the nation’s spy boss.

Mr Burgess found himself at the centre of a political storm last month after suggesting mere “rhetorical support” for Hamas might not prevent refugees from getting an Australian visa.

Within days Mr Dutton was calling 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 terrorist 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 Palestinian 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 terrorist organisation, that will be a problem.

“If you think terrorism is OK, if you think the destruction of the state of Israel is OK, if you think Hamas 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.

Mr Dutton welcomed the clarification from Mr Burgess, who he described as a “very good man”.

The Opposition leader then demanded Mr Albanese apologise to Mr Burgess, accusing the prime minister of putting the spy boss in a “difficult position” after suggesting ASIO was screening every applicant.

Mr Albanese rejected suggestions he had undermined Mr Burgess, levelling the same accusation at the Opposition.

“Mike Burgess is a big boy, he can speak for himself and he has. And he has, and his comments are there for all to see,” Mr Albanese said.

“He has my total confidence and the Coalition should stop undermining that and should support the work that he does.”