Claims by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the Australian Government had his multiple entry visa cancelled in response to fears of international terrorism has been dismissed as "untrue".
Hon. Patteson Oti made the claim when he addressed the 62nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.Australian High Commissioner, Mr. Peter Hooton, in response said that Mr. Oti knows "this is patently untrue".
In a statement, Mr. Hooton explained that Mr. Oti's visa, and the existing visas of all Solomon Islands' Members of Parliament, were cancelled in September 2006 in response to the unjustified expulsion from Solomon Islands of his predecessor, Patrick Cole.
He adds that since then, applications by MPs for visas to Australia have been considered on a case by case basis.