Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has interrupted a press conference to demand Nationals leader David Littleproud ‘say something about the children being slaughtered’ amid rising tensions around the Gaza-Israel conflict.
Senator Hanson-Young fired off the vicious line as she passed Mr Littleproud in the hallway while he took questions from reporters on Thursday.
‘Why don’t you say something about the children being slaughtered?’ she said as the bemused Nationals leader quickly resumed taking questions.
The interruption came after opposition leader Peter Dutton called for a outright ban of arrivals from Gaza, in a move condemned by Labor and the Greens.
Mr Dutton appeared to be at odds with the 79 Coalition MP’s who called for Hamas supporters to be denied visas, rather than all Gazans.
Ms Hanson-Young accused Mr Dutton of leading the ‘nasty party’.
‘It’s Trumpian, it’s despicable and it needs to be called out,’ she told reporters.
Mr Dutton told Sky News on Wednesday that there was uncertainty about Gazan refugees and their allegiance to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
‘I don’t think people should be coming in from that war zone at all at the moment, it’s not prudent to do so, and I think it puts our national security at risk,’ he said.
His call to ban Palestinians from seeking safety in was branded as ‘racist’ by Teal MP Zali Steggall on the floor of the Representatives on Thursday.
‘These are families that you are seeking to paint… that somehow they are all terrorists, that they should all be mistrusted, that they are not worthy of humanitarian aid,’ she said.
‘Stop being racist.’
Mr Dutton said the remark was ‘unparliamentary’ and asked for it to be withdrawn with Ms Steggall eventually complying with the Speaker’s request.
The opposition leader later defended his comments, telling Today Show host Karl Stefanovic he was trying to protect ns.
Stefanovic asked: ‘Are you heartless, a heartless racist? Do you have any humanity?’
Mr Dutton replied: ‘I just think all the usual political tripe, put it all to one side.
‘We have to make decisions, and they can be tough decisions, but decisions that are in our country’s best interests.
‘What’s happened here, Karl, is that the government has brought people in from a war zone – in some cases, they haven’t even done face-to-face interviews and that is without precedent.’
Mr Dutton accused Labor of putting ns at risk and likened the situation to the idea of allowing Al-Qaeda and ISIS sympathisers to enter.
When asked whether he had discussed his position with his colleagues beforehand, Mr Dutton said: ‘It’s a discussion not for Shadow Cabinet, to be honest, it’s a discussion with the national security team.
‘It’s in our country’s best interests.’
ASIO head Mike Burgess and home affairs department officials have repeatedly stated appropriate security checks were conducted for visa applicants.
The n government has called for a ceasefire plan to be adopted as the death toll mounts and the humanitarian situation worsens.