Abul Rizvi accuses Coalition of misusing his words on Gaza visas and calls national security claims ‘rubbish’

Former deputy immigration secretary says James Paterson quoted him very, very selectively' from interview in The Australian

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The former senior immigration official Abul Rizvi has accused the Coalition's home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, of quoting him very, very selectively" on visas for Palestinians and said the idea that people coming to Australia from Gaza posed a national security threat was a complete beat-up".

Rizvi, a former deputy immigration secretary, was quoted in the Australian on Thursday as saying the government had deviated from past practice by issuing tourist visas, rather than humanitarian visas, to people fleeing Gaza and that the decision was probably a political one that went against departmental advice.