There are UN refugee camps in Lebanon and other surrounding countries where refugees from the Syrian civil war have been waiting for months and even years to be resettled in a third country like Australia; it is not fair to these people to knowingly grant tourist visas to people who are clearly not tourists, who will then almost definitely apply for onshore protection.
Cancelling the visas after granting them though is a dick move. They should never have been granted in the first place.
“At the very least, those affected must be granted temporary visas immediately so they can stay safely in Australia while any issues are resolved,” he said.
There is absolutely no way that the majority of these visa holders will ever permanently depart Australia, and anyone who claims otherwise is being naive.
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