Subjects: Migration program; AAT; Crime Stoppers.
EO&E...........................................................................................................................................
RAY HADLEY:
Most Thursdays we try to speak to the Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. I haven't for a couple of weeks for varying reasons, but he's on the line this morning. Minister, good morning.
PETER DUTTON:
Good morning Ray.
RAY HADLEY:
Nice to talk to you.
PETER DUTTON:
Likewise. Likewise.
RAY HADLEY:
Now, your colleague the Minister for Cities, Population Alan Tudge wants to issue visas to immigrants to make sure they reside in regional Australia. I made the point and I make it again to you, I don't know how you make that work. You can't chain people down to live in Dubbo or Toowoomba.
PETER DUTTON:
Well you can't, but there are incentives you can put in place. You can work with people to try and match up skills.
We've got some regional communities where there is very low vacancy rates and there's probably not an opportunity for many people to go to those rural or regional communities, but there are other regional communities that are crying out for workers in abattoirs, to pick fruit, people to be involved in the community otherwise because they just can't fill those jobs. So it's a question I think of trying to match up the skills with those particular jobs and preparedness for that community to take people in.
There's I think some great work that Alan Tudge is doing and I'd wait for all the announcements, but I think there is some real opportunity here.
RAY HADLEY:
But surely the most important point has been raised by the New South Wales Premier and the Opposition Leader here Luke Foley, we need a reduction, a slow down on this state's overseas migrant intake and if it's going to be slowed down in this state, it's got to be slowed down nationally and I know that to a certain extent you and I have discussed that previously.
PETER DUTTON:
Well there are a couple of factors. I mean yes, real concerns about Sydney and Melbourne in particular, to a lesser degree Brisbane, but still a concern for those of us north of the border. But in South Australia they are desperate for people to migrate to South Australia to be involved in what is a fastly developing economy there after sitting dormant for a period of time. In the west as the mining starts to turn around again, I mean the west always is a big contributor to the migration program in that they have demand for people when mining is going well – obviously when it comes off they don't have the demand for those workers.
So I think it is hard to have just a global approach to the migration program here. We've got on top of that – I mean in a state like New South Wales as you know Ray, I mean for 16 years Labor basically did nothing in terms of the road network and infrastructure and the rest of it and the place ground to a halt – so that's turning around now to the New South Wales Government's credit, but there's a way to go.
So look, there are many different aspects to it. As you know last year migration numbers came down by about 30,000 which put it roughly equivalent to about the last year of the Howard Government. So yeah look, there's lots still to do and I think you'll see Alan Tudge announce more of that.
RAY HADLEY:
[inaudible] the Prime Minister knocked another 30,000 off [inaudible] accompanying that 30,000 you mentioned would do a lot to ease it. I mean as you understand I reside in Sydney, spend a bit of time on the Gold Coast, but we are on parking lots right now. There are people listening to us at 28 past nine or 28 past eight in Queensland, just gridlocked and they remain gridlocked. The peak used to be 6-6.30 till about 9.30, now it goes from 5.30 until about 10.30, 11.30, you get a bit of respite through the middle of the day unless you're a truck driver and then the same thing starts about half past two in the morning and finishes at nine o'clock tonight. Anyway we move on.
I've covered the case of the former priest Finian Egan for many years; a paedophile priest who was convicted in 2013 of raping a teenage girl and then committing serious sexual assaults against two other girls, released from jail last December and served just four years of an eight year sentence. You cancelled his citizenship to send him back to Ireland, but he appealed to the Admin Appeals Tribunal and he won. But I note that a Federal Court is now agreeing with your assessment and sent the case back to the AAT. Now what's the process here? What happens next?
PETER DUTTON:
Well it's a good judgment obviously Ray and there were costs awarded against Mr Egan as well. So it's still ongoing unfortunately. So it goes back to the AAT and they consider from there, but at the moment it's considered given the decision out of the court that Mr Egan's citizenship has been cancelled. So there's still a process to go through, but again it shows in this case, in my judgment common sense has prevailed. So still a few more steps to go through, but when you look at the victims in many of these cases, there've been horrific cases of sexual assault, of rape etc.
So I always remind myself of the victims in these cases and I think we spare a thought for victims in this case and in many others and it's why I've been very serious about cancelling visas of sexual predators, people who have committed sexual offences against children and the rest and there are many people that potentially fall prey to paedophiles if they're not stopped and by deporting people that are involved in sexual offences particularly against children, I think we make our country a safer place and we're going to continue to do that.
RAY HADLEY:
Okay, look we had the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse and it was evident that some religions, without identifying them individually, ran a protection racket for paedophiles over decades. I notice one of the reasons the AAT ruled the way it did before it was overturned by the Federal Court – a submission from a bishop, who's now the Melbourne Catholic Archbishop, suggesting Finian Egan would be isolated in Ireland.
I mean you despair, you would think that – I know people offer references in a whole range of court cases for varying reasons – but you'd think a bishop, the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne would know better than to perhaps run a defence for a fellow who's been convicted of most serious and heinous crimes.
PETER DUTTON:
I think when you look at what the churches, including the Catholic Church are now starting to put in place, I think there's a realisation that a lot of the past practices, at least finally, they're admitting abhorrent, unacceptable, can't be condoned, can't be covered up and in the 21st century we need to be realistic about the fact that people who are committing sexual offences against children face very serious crimes, face very serious penalties for the crimes that they've committed and we need to make sure that happens across society – whether it's within churches or within community groups otherwise, within family units, whatever it is – it is a very serious offence and it's becoming more prolific with all the pornography online, kids being used as pawns on these websites. It is just unbearable and we need to do all we can in a civilised country like ours to make sure that we stamp it out.
The churches have their part to play and I think there's been a real adjustment in terms of the attitude and let's hope it continues.
RAY HADLEY:
Now you addressed the National Crime Stoppers Conference in Canberra yesterday and I was reading about it this morning. It was established 40 years ago. If someone had, you know, said to me when do you reckon, I'd say oh 10 or 15 years, but it's been going for 40 years.
PETER DUTTON:
Pretty amazing and a fact for you as well, the bloke that set it up, Mr MacAleese, is out here from Canada and he set it up in Canada 40 years ago, as you say, and they tell me that now just over a million people have been arrested as a result of information provided to Crime Stoppers and the beauty of their program is that they guarantee anonymity of the person providing the information.
I mean there are countless investigations where it just wouldn't have been resolved, people wouldn't have been arrested, the crime wouldn't have been cleared up without that snippet of information that somebody's called through to Crime Stoppers.
So a timely reminder, but a great organisation and yes interesting that, as you say, four decades ago and set up by a bloke in Canada.
RAY HADLEY:
Unbelievable. We'll talk next Thursday. Thanks for your time.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks Ray. See you mate.
[ends]
