Subjects: Labor’s border protection failures; upcoming by-elections; Emma Husar; Minister Little; character cancellations; Melbourne African crime gangs; terrorism charges.
EO&E.................................................
PETER DUTTON:
I just wanted to make some comments in relation to Anthony Albanese's latest position on border protection. It's clear that Anthony Albanese is no better than Kevin Rudd was, than Julia Gillard was and Bill Shorten is.
Anthony Albanese is refusing to say whether or not he would vote at the upcoming Conference to change the border protection policy. At the last election he was the leader of the Left who voted against our Operation Sovereign Borders policy; a policy that has stopped kids drowning at sea, has got children out of detention and has stopped the people smugglers – at least for the time being.
Now we've turned back 33 boats over the course of the last couple of years. It's clear to me in all of the intelligence that people in Indonesia, in Sri Lanka, in Malaysia and elsewhere are trying to put together ventures right now. There are 14,000 people in Indonesia who are ready to hop on boats tomorrow and that somehow the Labor Party would contemplate changing and watering down and weakening our border protection laws is beyond anyone's comprehension.
In Europe already this year, 50,000 people have come on boats across the Mediterranean and there are some 1,400 people who are either unaccounted for or confirmed drowned at sea. Now, if Labor wants to return to those days, well let them explain it to the people of Longman and of Braddon and in Mayo because at the moment, Anthony Albanese is pretending somehow that he has a point of difference with Bill Shorten on boats and it's a nonsense.
Anthony Albanese is trying to make people believe that he would be a stronger leader than Bill Shorten – its garbage. He voted against our Government's border protection policies and he won't even say now what he would do at the upcoming conference when the issue of border protection is discussed. He fobs it off by saying: oh, it may not even get to the Conference floor. Well Anthony Albanese needs to stand up and explain to the people of Longman why his position continues to change and why Labor remains so weak on border protection.
It's clear that Susan Lamb and others – including Justine Keay – who have said that they support Albo because he's the leader of the Left and he's opposed to our border protection policies.
Susan Lamb needs to come out and explain what she would do at Conference. Would she vote for or against border protection policies? Because in the past she's been in favour of bringing people here from Manus and Nauru which is a sure way of getting the boats to restart.
I'm happy to take any questions.
QUESTION:
What do you think is behind Anthony Albanese's refusal to say whether he'll change the border protection policy?
PETER DUTTON:
Look, it's game-on in the Labor Party. The leadership contest has already started. Anthony Albanese is trying to sabotage the Labor Party's success in the upcoming by-elections because he knows that if they fail at the by-elections there will be a certain challenge to Bill Shorten's leadership.
Anthony Albanese is long in Parliament, but he's running out of time and he sees now is his best opportunity to attack Bill Shorten and he sees – as Julia Gillard did, remember when she took over from Kevin Rudd, she said there were a number of things that she was going to change and fix up and border protection was at the top of the list – and Anthony Albanese essentially is trying to ride in like a white knight, but he's part of the problem.
He was part of the problem sitting around the Cabinet table as Deputy Prime Minister in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years and he's part of the problem now because in his heart he doesn't believe in tough border protection policies and Labor says one thing when they're in Opposition and then they weaken the law when they're in government.
So Anthony Albanese is just firing the first shots in this leadership contest and Bill Shorten knows that Albanese's coming for him. I think he'll wait until after the by-elections on the 28th to launch his challenge, but it's clear he's putting stakes in the ground right now.
QUESTION:
Are you concerned by reports taxpayers are funding Labor MP Emma Husar's staff member who performs nannying and household duties?
PETER DUTTON:
Well I think again Mr Shorten should come out and explain what this is all about. People work hard for their taxes and they don't expect money to be spent in inappropriate ways and Mr Shorten should come out today to explain what he's done to satisfy himself that this is an appropriate expenditure or not; and if it's not an appropriate expenditure, how is the money going to be repaid? When is it going to be repaid? And what consequence is there for this Member of Parliament?
QUESTION:
New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little has called the good character test very airy-fairy, or a very airy fairy basis for deporting someone. He says someone shouldn't be deported without a criminal conviction. Does he have a point there?
PETER DUTTON:
Well look, I just make this point: I'm no friend of criminals, let's be very clear about it. I've cancelled more visas in the last 12 months than Labor did in six years, including 184 outlaw motorcycle gang members who are the biggest distributors of ice, of amphetamine, of fentanyl in this country and I'm going to continue to do it.
The law is very clear in Australia. That is, if you are not an Australian citizen and you've committed an offence which puts you outside the conditions of your visa, or puts you in breach of the Migration Act, you stand to have your visa cancelled and I don't make any apology for that.
We've had a particular focus also on people that have committed sexual offences against Australian children and Australian women and I'm going to continue to cancel those visas and to deport those people because I want to make our society a safer place.
So I discriminate not on somebody's ethnic background, not on their religion, not on their country of origin, but on the fact that they have conducted themselves against the law and outside of the law and if they're criminals, then they can expect to have their visas cancelled and I've been very clear about that.
QUESTION:
So you don't believe…you don't agree with this characterisation of the good character test that it's a very nebulous, a very air-fairy basis for deporting someone?
PETER DUTTON:
It's clear within the Migration Act. It was supported by Labor through the federal Parliament at the time as I recall.
QUESTION:
You seemed to suggest yesterday in comments that if New Zealand keeps straining the relationship regarding deportations, Australia might allow asylum seeker boats to head across the ditch. Is that your intention?
PETER DUTTON:
I don't have anything to add other than just what I've said and I made comments yesterday not including that comment. So I'm happy to make very clear our position and our position is that people will be deported whether it's to United Kingdom, to Canada, to New Zealand, wherever it might be. We will deport people who are here as non-citizens and who have committed crimes against Australian citizens.
QUESTION:
Adam Bandt says you're not welcome in Melbourne, he says the Prime Minister's not welcome in Melbourne because of your comments on African gangs. He says you're using race to invoke [inaudible] hatred. Is that your intention? Is that what you're doing?
PETER DUTTON:
Well when nobody has anything of substance to argue, they carry on like Mr Bandt does and if Mr Bandt wants to look the victims of crime, people that have suffered at the hands of these Sudanese gang members in Victoria and tell them that there's nothing to see here, there's no problem in Victoria; well let him stand up and say that.
My judgement is that the majority of Victorians support our stance. That is that we want a safer society and until Mr Andrews accepts that he has a problem that he's created – his bail laws are the worst bail laws in the country and they are allowing people to be released back out onto the street and to recommit additional offences.
It's clear to me that Mr Bandt doesn't speak for the majority of Victorians who just want Victoria to be a safe place to raise your kids and to enjoy a great lifestyle. Victoria's a great state, Melbourne's a great city, but they've got a bad Premier and they've got a shocking Member in Adam Bandt and I don't think that the majority of Australians or the majority of Victorians support these pathetic bail laws and the approach of the Andrews Government that's created a situation where innocent people are falling victims to these gangs.
QUESTION:
Just on some other comments from Andrew Little and claims from him that federal laws are blocking Kiwi citizens from being extradited to Australia to face their charges in court. Does that have any substance?
PETER DUTTON:
Again mate, I don't have any comment to make in relation to New Zealand matters. I've expressed my views in relation to what our approach is on visas and it's not going to change.
QUESTION:
Will the Australian Government pressure Turkey to ensure Neil Prakash remains behind bars and if so, how will this occur?
PETER DUTTON:
Well from my perspective I'm happy to see him rot in jail in Turkey. I want to make sure that people answer to the crimes that they're alleged to have committed and from our perspective there is a desire to extradite him, but we respect the outcome in Turkey and as I say, if he's rotting in a Turkish jail then that's fine by me.
QUESTION:
How disappointed are you that the extradition request has been knocked back?
PETER DUTTON:
Well again, it's an issue for the Turkish authorities.
QUESTION:
And a former Turkish MP says political pressure to Turkey could backfire, are you concerned [inaudible]?
PETER DUTTON:
Again, it's an issue for Turkey. I'd leave it to them.
QUESTION:
If the extradition for a second attempt cannot be secured, what assurance is Australia seeking from Turkey – Turkish authorities that the terrorist will be charged and tried in Turkey?
PETER DUTTON:
Let's take one step at a time, but people that have been involved in terrorist activity, people that have been involved in fundraising or if they've been on the frontline or providing support for terrorist organisations, then there's a consequence to pay and whether that's in the Australian legal system or the Turkish legal system or elsewhere around the world, then people need to accept that that's a consequence of their own actions.
Australia obviously has an interest in extraditing or charging people, bringing people before the courts who are alleged to have committed serious crimes, particularly terrorist-related offences and we'll continue to pursue those people.
But in relation to Mr Prakash, the fact that he's rotting in a Turkish jail is fine by me.
QUESTION:
And why does Australia have an interest, considering that their previous position was that it wanted as few terrorists back in Australia as possible, especially considering the risk that it could radicalise other terrorists in prison?
PETER DUTTON:
Well there are number of things that we've done. Obviously a number of these individuals have been targeted and have been killed in the Middle East – and frankly, that's the best possible outcome for our country because we don't want people coming back further radicalised and posing a significant threat to Australians.
We've already seen in our country, 14 attempted terrorist attacks that have been thwarted by the authorities. Where there's sufficient evidence to prosecute someone, we would seek to extradite that person because we believe that they should be tried before our criminal justice system.
But as I say, if there are other jurisdictions that have charges to bring against individuals, then that's an issue for that jurisdiction and for their legal system.
QUESTION:
Do you still believe Trevor Ruthenberg is an honest person given revelations this week that on multiple websites he wrongly claimed to have received a prestigious military medal when in fact he hadn't?
PETER DUTTON:
Yes I do. Trevor Ruthenberg is one of the most decent people I've met, he's an honest person, he's made an honest mistake, he's owned up to it and people should accept that.
Susan Lamb lied to her electorate. She said that there was no problem with her Australian citizenship and she knew that there was. Over the course of that time she took a couple of hundred thousand dollars of taxpayers' money as an MP that had no right to sit in the federal Parliament.
So it's a bit rich coming from Labor and from Mr Shorten who won't even tell the truth in relation to hospital funding, which is going up and up and up under this Government – particularly at the Caboolture Hospital – and Mr Shorten won't tell the truth in relation to border protection policy.
Trevor Ruthenberg stands strongly with me in relation to our approach on keeping our borders secure and Susan Lamb stands with Anthony Albanese on the Left of the Labor Party. They want to undo Operation Sovereign Borders and I think people should consider that as a very significant issue when they're casting their vote between now and up until the 28th of July when the by-election takes place.
Alright, thanks guys.