Key Points
- Mehreen Faruqi told the Senate she was broken by “racism” in Parliament this week.
- The Greens senator, who is also Muslim, said the attacks on those of her faith had taken a heavy personal toll.
- Parliamentary debate continued Thursday on visas issued to Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi told the Senate that parliamentary debate over Australia’s granting of visas to Palestinians had left her “broken” and that “racism” and “attacks on Muslims” had cost her a heavy price.
Over the past fortnight, debate has focused on Australian visa applications for Palestinians fleeing Gaza, .
Despite repeated assurances from the government that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faced further questions on the issue during Question Time on Thursday.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Albanese of “cutting corners” and putting “domestic political considerations ahead of national security”.
The opposition leader reiterated his calls in Parliament on Monday to ban Palestinians from being issued visas to Australia until security screening processes are improved.
Faruqi accused Parliament of being a breeding ground for “the roots of racism… and the problems of this country”.
“This week, this place broke me. This place broke me with its racism, this place broke me with its attacks on Muslims, on Palestinian refugees, on people with disabilities and on women,” she said. -she declared in the Senate.
Faruqi said she was “not afraid to speak the truth and speak out against racism, sexism and intolerance”, despite the personal consequences this had.
“But some days, some weeks, the price is just too high.”
She said Dutton had made “outrageous comments” and that Labor senator Penny Wong had falsely accused the Greens of politicizing the plight of the Palestinians.
“I had to sit here and listen to Senator (Jacqui) Lambie attack and defame Muslims and she couldn’t even pronounce my name,” Faruqi said of the senator who .
From the government rejected 7,111 Palestinian visa applications and granted 2,922 as of August 12. Around 1,300 people with approved visas have resettled in Australia.
8,746 visas were granted to Israeli citizens while 235 Israeli visa applications were rejected during the same period.
The majority of visas granted to Palestinians were granted at the start of the conflict; The Interior Ministry has only granted 236 visas since May 27.
for concocting outrage over Palestinian visas, claiming it had been more than three months since people could physically leave war-torn Gaza.
