RAY HADLEY:

The Immigration Minister Peter Dutton joins me every Thursday; a little later than usual today because he's been flat strap with various duties. He's on the line right now. Minister, good morning.

PETER DUTTON:

Good morning, Ray. How are you?

RAY HADLEY:

Good. I want you to do me a favour. We're a little bit more laid back today. I want you to listen to a call that I took in the last hour of the programme – you wouldn't have heard it because you're busy up there – but it's created quite a response from my listeners, so bear with me if you don't mind, Minister. This is Anna.

[plays recording of conversation with talkback caller]

RAY HADLEY:

Now Minister, she's a proud Queenslander that lady.

PETER DUTTON:

Oh, what a beautiful lady; beautiful story.

RAY HADLEY:

And I've got a stack of them here, the same sort of thing. It's your job as a government, your job as a Minister to make sure her wishes come true about this country being kept safe.

PETER DUTTON:

Well, I hope we can live up to her expectations and I think for millions of Australians who have come here, particularly since the Second World War, they've worked hard, they've abided by Australian law, they've sacrificed, they've gone without, they've helped educate their kids, through their hard work they've been able to accumulate a bit of wealth and it's what's made us a great country today. Those people have been prepared to go off and fight for us in war, to defend us here at home, and all of us should be reminded, particularly on today, that we want to defend those values.

People do want to come to our country to escape persecution and to escape war, and civil war and unrest and terrorism, and we don't want those scourges here in Australia; that's why it is important for us to make tough decisions, but necessary ones, that deal with the reality of the threats that we face and people who seek to do us harm today as terrorists are no different to enemies that we've had to stare down in previous generations.

I think we need to be reassured by the beautiful words of Anna before that what we're doing is the right thing, and to keep and protect our country as one of the best countries in the world is very important, and all of us in leadership roles or in…well, you're going into politics now, it seems, Ray …

RAY HADLEY:

No, no, let me assure you Minister I'm staying exactly where I am. I don't think I could understand all the focus that I couldn't buy an apartment on the Gold Coast, if I were to go in politics without being investigated.

PETER DUTTON:

Well I’ve got a great head for radio, so maybe we can do a bit of a work swap.

RAY HADLEY:

A bit of job swapping…Now, to more serious issues, the US President; he's got the Mexicans jumping up and down about the fence. He's expected to sign this executive order placing a temporary ban on most refugees to the USA. How does that affect the deal we thought we had done over Manus and Nauru?

PETER DUTTON:

Well, it doesn't affect the arrangement that we've got with the US; so that's the first point to make. It obviously deals with the President's election commitment around the fence on…you know, the southern border with Mexico. So that is honouring his commitment there.

He's worried about people movements, but also worried, as we are, about the movement of gun parts, of illicit substances and I think he's detailed some… you know in some specifics about the number of Americans killed each year because of drug overdoses and the rest.

So like all of us, he wants to protect his borders and defend his country; that's America's sovereign right, as it is Australia’s and we'll continue to work with the US.

Obviously we entered into an arrangement with the previous Administration. We would like for that to continue with the Trump Administration, but we're working with the Trump officials at the moment. So that's where we're at.

RAY HADLEY:

So have you had a chance to talk to the US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly about this, or is it just you're hoping that they'll agree to what the promises were made prior to them coming to office?

PETER DUTTON:

No, I've had a good conversation with the new Secretary and obviously our Ambassador in the United States is doing a lot of work. The Prime Minister and I have been doing a lot of work, as others have including the Foreign Minister.

So we're keen to work with the US, but ultimately it's a new Administration. They'll make decisions that affect their Administration and we, as I say, we respect that. But it's a very deep and abiding relationship with the US. There are many aspects to it, including military and intelligence, sharing of information, particularly in my space around Customs and movement of people across borders, movement of terrorists and the rest and Australia is one of America's best friends in the world.

So we'll continue to work with the US, but ultimately we respect the fact that it's a decision for President Trump.

RAY HADLEY:

Now, you spoke in detail to my colleague Luke Grant in my absence last Thursday about something that is most important…

PETER DUTTON:

…is this is your hole in one?

RAY HADLEY:

No, not the hole in one. Even more…

PETER DUTTON:

…I said to him don't be impressed, Hadley's out there playing three rounds a day while he's a holidays, so he should have got a hole in one before now.

RAY HADLEY:

Exactly. Well I didn't do it in your native state I had to wait til I came back home to do it…

But the deportation of young criminal migrants; now, since you made those comments, we've had dreadful, dreadful things happening in Victoria. We've got people still on the run – they've re-captured more this morning by the way, if you haven't caught up with the news, I think they've got four more in custody …

PETER DUTTON:

Good.

RAY HADLEY:

Many of these people belong to this Sudanese gang, the Apex gang, and now we've got two others in custody after armed robberies on various retail outlets across Melbourne last week. I mean how serious are you about, if possible, sending these people back to Sudan?

PETER DUTTON:

Well, we will send people back and we've already cancelled some visas, but the problem in Victoria though – because it's interesting to note that this is not a problem in Sydney or in Brisbane or in Perth, this is a problem in Victoria – and the problem is predominantly because the bail laws were weakened dramatically by Premier Andrews – and as you say, not only the Apex gang activity, but also a lot of attention will be paid to the reasons for the person that committed the carnage and the mass murder in Melbourne, will be looked at in terms of what were the bail arrangements around his earlier arrest. Now, that's all a matter for the coroner, but this is a very serious problem in Victoria.

We're having these Apex gang members who are getting out on bail almost as quickly as they're being arrested, going out repeatedly committing serious offences, following people home from restaurants and home invading, stealing keys, robbing families, taking cars, breaking into jewellery stores in the middle of the day, threatening people with all sorts of serious weapons.

So this is a big problem in Victoria and we are working with the Victorian Government on the immigration side, but this is predominantly a law and order situation and Daniel Andrews needs to get serious and sort it out because the bail laws in Victoria are completely untenable.

RAY HADLEY:

But if you were to say 16 and 17 year olds, those who are still legally underage, and continue to offend, I mean you can't send adults back without the naysayers and the hand-wringers and the PC Brigade getting up in arms, what will they do if you move to move younger people out of the country because of their abhorrent behaviour?

PETER DUTTON:

Well Ray, we've had great success in cancelling the visas of non-citizens, including the bikies, rapists, child molesters, all sorts of people that have committed offences against Australians. I start with the very basic proposition; if you come to this country, like Anna did, you come here, you take the opportunity, you work hard, you do the right thing by our country because our country's done the right thing by you. If you're not prepared to abide by those rules; pack your bags and leave as quickly as possible.

Now, while I have ramped up quite considerably the numbers of visas that I've cancelled over the last 12 months, we're having a look at the age at which that could cut in and there's a Parliamentary Committee headed by Jason Wood, a former policeman from Victoria, having a look at that very issue at the moment.

But we need to be serious and we need to recognise that…and we shouldn't be embarrassed about the fact that millions of people want to come to this great country and I want the best of those people to come in, not the worst, and those people coming here on tourist visas or here as permanent residents, whatever their status, if they commit crimes, then they can expect to have their visas cancelled and be kicked out of our country – we want to do that because we want a safe country, we want a safe community, we don't want people robbing and attacking Australian citizens that are offering a hand of friendship – and that's going to be one of the key objectives of the Government this year.

RAY HADLEY:

Ok, I know you're flat out, but I want to leave you with another positive one because while we're talking and listening to Anna, one's come in from another listener and that listener says: as post-war migrants from Europe we arrived in Sydney on the 22nd of June 1949, I was only three. This country provided us with shelter, food and eventually work which gave us hope for a better future. From the ship we moved to a camp in Bathurst – where I'm broadcasting to right now – until we could permanently be placed.

My brother, now 84, often recalls our first breakfast the following very cold morning in Bathurst. There were five of us and my brother having a little smattering of English was sent to collect our tray. He came back with the tray with porridge, chops, toast and many other things. On seeing the tray, our mum sent him back to enquire whether the food on the tray was for all day for one meal. All for one meal. The lady who served him affectionately ruffled his hair and said: son, go back and tell your mum, that's only your breakfast. You can come back here again for lunch and dinner.

So, yes, I did get teary with Anna's comments as we do at all our family functions. We know we won the lottery in coming here. Our original destination, Ray, was to go to Chile. God bless Australia.

That's the sort of email and call that you need to get on Australia Day, Minister.

PETER DUTTON:

Yes, well it's a beautiful message and we owe it to those people to make sure our country remains with those same values for generations to come, Ray. So happy Australia Day to everyone and thank you for what you do; it’s great to have you back on the air and I look forward to catching up next week.

RAY HADLEY:

Thank you Peter. Peter Dutton the Immigration Minister from Brisbane where he's officiating today in his capacity as Immigration Minister.

[ends]