Subjects: Jobs for Australians in Adelaide; Melbourne African crime gangs; federal politics.
EO&E...........................................................................................................................................
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
Minister good morning. Glad you've chosen Adelaide. What led you down this path?
PETER DUTTON:
It's good to be on the program. Thank you very much and Happy New Year to you and your listeners.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
To you too.
PETER DUTTON:
I mean it's a natural choice for us because we wanted to bring the jobs back to Australia and I was very definite about that in the run-up to last year's Budget when we were looking at these issues. We had people in call centres offshore and it didn't make sense to me that we had those positions offshore when we could provide those services onshore.
So it creates 250 jobs in Adelaide, which I think is a great story for the local economy there, and there's a company that we've contracted with that'll provide the services and it'll mean that people get I think a better service out of their contact with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection when they've got queries about visas and information that they need from the Department.
I think if local people understand our system more effectively then it results in a better customer experience.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
So is that the nature of the work? Is it just customer inquiries? How do you get a visa? How do you apply for immigration, citizenship etc?
PETER DUTTON:
Yeah exactly mate. That's the nature of the service that'll be provided. People will have queries about different visas or information that they would seek around citizenship services for example – a whole range of services that the Department offers – and people can gain information through the call centre, be directed to the expert in that particular field, or have forms sent out or links provided to them. So that general information.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
And operating from when? When will the whole 250 be here and the thing running properly?
PETER DUTTON:
Starts to rollout shortly and then it'll be fully in place by mid-2018 I think's the objective. So over the next couple of months they'll recruit, provide those services and obviously there'll be a benefit to the South Australian economy.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
I want to ask you while I have you on the phone about a couple of other issues and certainly the Melbourne issue at the moment, the African crime gangs running around that state and that city and it certainly concerns people right across the nation.
What help is the Federal Government providing the Victorian Government to crack down on this and is the danger this could spread interstate?
PETER DUTTON:
Well a couple of points to make here. Obviously this is a problem that is concentrated in Victoria. There is a problem with some of the judges and magistrates that Daniel Andrews has appointed. I think some of the bail decisions that have been made have been criticised even by Daniel Andrews' own Ministers and it is a problem – not in Adelaide, not in Brisbane, not in Sydney – it's a problem concentrated in Victoria. So let's be honest about the problem that's there.
I know some people are out denying that there are gangs or that gang violence is taking place – it's a complete nonsense – and the fact is that there are many victims in Victoria who have suffered at the hands of these gangs and we need to call it out because I'm not, like any Australian, wanting to see a very small element of a community – in this case the African community – define the rest of the community which is law abiding, engaged in society, working, employed, studying whatever it might be and leaders within that community who are honest with the problem that they face, want to see an end to the violence as well; the law applies equally to any Australian, to any Victorian in this case.
So Mr Andrews has, I think, a lot of deep thinking to do to. Firstly apologise to the people of Victoria for the mistakes that he's made which has led to the resulting violence that's taken place, the victims across parts of Victoria. It's been spelled out in recent polling in the Fairfax papers, in fact which indicated that people in certain electorates were feeling less safe about going out at night.
So I think Daniel Andrews is travelling in some parallel universe which puts him at complete odds with the Victorian public because the Victorian public is shaking their head when they hear Daniel Andrews say that there is no problem here and no problem to fix up.
The fact is that there is a problem and people are suffering and I don't want to see anybody else become a victim at the hands of these criminals. They should be called out and locked up where necessary and law and order should be restored in Victoria.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
Are you concerned…
PETER DUTTON:
…the Federal Government – from my perspective – I've cancelled visas of a number of people that have been involved in gang violence, including in Victoria. Our visa cancellations are up by 1,200 per cent…
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
…would you do it in this case if some of these people before the courts – and you know for instance a kid who's allegedly kicked the policeman in the head – would you do it for him if it came up and that was required?
PETER DUTTON:
Well I'm not going to comment on specific cases that are before the courts, but where there has been violence against a police officer, for example, where there has been violence against the elderly or women or children, then we do look at all of the circumstances there.
In many cases I have cancelled the visas of individuals involved in that type of crime and there's very specific provision under the Migration Act for people to have their visas cancelled.
It's also important why we need to get the citizenship aspect right because if people are going from visas, as non-citizens, on to become Australian citizens, then we need to make sure that 99 per cent of people are doing the right thing, but make sure that the one per cent are doing the right thing as well because once they become citizens of course, then they're no longer on a visa, they can't be deported and we need to make sure that we're granting citizenship to those people that want to work hard, integrate into our society, be a part of the Australian community, send their kids to the school and the rest of it…
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
…are you concerned about…
PETER DUTTON:
…so some of the cases that you're looking at – sorry just to finish quickly – some of the cases that you'll be looking at will be people that have been born in Australia or are Australian citizens. So obviously they don't come within the Migration Act.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
Are you concerned about contagion in this case? Could it spread interstate? I don't know what the socio-economic backgrounds are here, but certainly it seems to me if it's happening in Victoria it's only a matter of time.
PETER DUTTON:
I think the fact that people within communities, including Toowoomba in Queensland for example where the African community has a big presence, have been able to integrate well into that community; well accepted by locals, young kids are going to school, they're in work and we're not seeing in other parts of the country the extent of the problem that we're seeing in Victoria. I think this really is an issue that is the responsibility of Daniel Andrews.
As I say, I think the first thing that Daniel Andrews needs to do – now that he's back off holidays – is to apologise to the Victorian public because people have suffered and people have – in their own homes – suffered the consequences of this gang violence and Daniel Andrews denies that there's a problem. He needs to fix the problem that is of his own making and he needs to fix it quickly before anybody else falls victim to these gang members. Now I think most Victorians would expect that from their Premier.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
A couple of other issues around the place. One is the head of the ABF – the Australian Border Force obviously in your portfolio area – Roman Quaedvlieg. He is yet to return to work, being investigated for allegedly helping his girlfriend get a job at Sydney Airport. He denies that of course, but he's been off for seven months. Do you expect him to come back or are you asking for him to resign or expecting a resignation?
PETER DUTTON:
Well there's a process that's underway and there's ACLEI – which is the independent body that looks at these matters in relation to law enforcement agencies – is conducting their investigation. So that's an issue for them and obviously these matters are generally protracted because there are questions to be put, responses to be provided and there's a due process that needs to be gone through in that regard. So I'll leave that to ACLEI and they'll make recommendations. They're obviously conducting their inquiries and there's nothing further publicly that I can add to that.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
Alright. The Australian Monarchist League – another issue – looking for some federal funding to launch a campaign, a year-long campaign, to promote the status quo, keeping the monarchy. Are you in favour of either camp, republicans or monarchists, getting access to federal money for this debate?
PETER DUTTON:
Well I think it's an issue for others. I haven't seen that call and I'm the Immigration Minister so I'll leave it to others to have the discussion.
But I think what's important in this year for all of us is the fact that we need to – in a very uncertain environment – provide the best possible security situation for Australians and to make sure that we continue to manage the economy well.
I mean you've seen the effect of the Labor Government in South Australia where they just run up debt, run out of money eventually and we saw that under the Rudd-Gillard years and we're still in the process of fixing all of that up.
So we're putting record amounts into health and education, we're cutting taxes, we're providing – I think through the Home Affairs Department – the best possible opportunity to keep Australians safe.
I think they're the issues that we want to concentrate on in 2018 and for Victorians I really want to make sure that Daniel Andrews fixes up this mess because the elderly people and small businesses, families, really are suffering at the hands of these violent thugs and the fact that Mr Andrews won't even call them gang members; he's traveling in some sort of parallel universe and Victorians are shaking their heads and street police officers are shaking their heads in bewilderment at Daniel Andrews as well. I mean it's just unforgiveable that this continues and that the Premier of Victoria can't apologise to the people of Victoria for the mistakes that he's made. I think it's an outrage and I think he should come out today and make that apology.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
Just finally, that message you've said about the things that you consider important, obviously they're the things the Coalition needs to hammer home to try to have a better year after the terrible few years you've had. Publicly of course; the Prime Minister heading for his 30th poor Newspoll. Is that the message that the Government will be hammering home? Do you think you can turn it around?
PETER DUTTON:
We can turn it around. I've been in Parliament 16 years now. I was a Minister in the Howard Government and I saw good polls, bad polls and months out from an election when John Howard was written-off and Kim Beazley was going to become prime minister and Mark Latham was going to be the prime minister.
The fact is that Bill Shorten is an untrustworthy character and Australians have a real doubt in their mind as to his character. You don't become the chief union official in this country like Bill Shorten did without skeletons in your closet and even some of Mr Shorten's own colleague's doubt his leadership capacity. He's slick and smooth and people see through it though. He's not a genuine product and those people that know Bill Shorten well, know that he's not to be trusted and I think Australians will see through Mr Shorten. I don't think there's any great public affection out there for Bill Shorten and…
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
…there's not for Malcolm Turnbull either.
PETER DUTTON:
Well the Government's going to continue to perform and that which we can deliver to families and small businesses by way of national security and economic security, that's what's important and if they see the Government delivering that, and we can sell that message during 2018 and 2019, I believe the Government can be returned and I think that would be a good thing for our country.
MATTHEW PANTELIS:
Alright Peter Dutton, thank you for your time this morning.
PETER DUTTON:
Thank you mate, all the best.
[ends]