Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson has backed in the Opposition Leader's calls that Palestinians fleeing Gaza should not be granted entry to Australia, due to national security concerns.

Paterson says there should be a "temporary pause" until the Government can convince the Opposition and the Australian people that the security checks are sufficiently thorough. It follows comments from ASIO chief Mike Burgess, who said his agency did conduct security checks on some entrants but that "rhetorical" support for Hamas was not grounds for immediate disqualification.

Guest: James Paterson, Shadow Home Affairs Minister