Subjects: Director-General of ASIO comments; GetUp!; Coptic Christians; Bill Shorten's lack of leadership.
E&EO…………………………………………………………………………………………..
JOURNALIST:
Minister do you think that there's a link between refugees and terrorism?
PETER DUTTON:
I've just made comment on that earlier. My judgement is that Duncan Lewis – and as somebody who has worked very closely with him, I feel very confident in saying this – not only is he a distinguished former head of the SAS and Diplomat, the rest of it, he's served our country loyally every day of his working life and I think people should respect that. In terms of our refugee intake, I mean look at the facts: we've taken 845,000 people – if not a few more than that – since the Second World War. People that have worked hard, who have contributed to our society, people that have educated their children, who are leaders in our country today and they've made our country what it is today – a great modern society.
We, in terms of the Syrian intake, took 12,000 people through that programme and yes we conducted the most rigorous tests. We were criticised by Labor at the time for time it took to conduct each of the tests in relation to the individual – and we did find over 20 people in that screening process that we did have concerns about – we excluded those people, they didn't come to our country.
I think the point that Mr Lewis was making, that others have made – that I've made on a number of occasions – is that we do have problems where people are indoctrinated online where they have an impressionable young mind. They can be of any background. They can come to this country under any visa. They can be born here – as is the case in the UK – and we saw this recently in Manchester where people are radicalised, not because of the pathway that they came to our country, but because they have had their minds influenced by people over the internet or by rogue creatures or whatever it might be. Somehow they get it within their mind that to kill innocent children or people in a society like Manchester or like in Sydney with Monis etc, that somehow that's justified. Now that is a disease. It is bankrupt in terms of any moral justification. They're all important points that all of us make.
JOURNALIST:
So if you agree with Duncan Lewis, you mustn't agree with Tony Abbott that Duncan Lewis should rethink his words?
PETER DUTTON:
I think look at the comments that Mr Lewis made, not only in Senate Estimates, but the comments that he made yesterday in an interview with Fran Kelly on Radio National and look at the contribution that Mr Lewis has made over a long period of time.
If people want to criticise this Government in relation to the refugee programme or the immigration programme, well criticise me. I'm the person in charge of this portfolio. But you know what? I don't get too much criticism in terms of people saying that I need to harden up or take a tougher stance in relation to security checks. I conduct the programme in a way that I think is of benefit to our country. I've cancelled a record number of visas of people who have done the wrong thing, who have committed offences or crimes against Australians. Regularly I'm criticised by many of the left-wing media outlets for being too tough in relation to decisions around visas and I'm not going to change that approach.
Our problem is with people of any background – whether they are born here or they come here – who are radicalised and go out and commit these offences. We have the best agencies in the world, including ASIO, headed by Duncan Lewis. They have foiled 12 out of 12 attacks. We work very closely with ASIO, with the AFP and the other intelligence and law enforcement agencies and we will continue to do that because we are acting in the best interests of Australians, we're providing for the national security at a time when we need to have every hand on the wheel and that is exactly what we're doing.
JOURANALIST:
So to be perfectly clear; is Duncan Lewis right? Do you agree with him?
PETER DUTTON:
I've answered the question in terms of if you look at what Mr Lewis has said. If you look at the facts on the table, the facts on the table are this: we bring people in through a number of programmes – including the refugee and humanitarian programme. We've brought in 845,000 people since the Second World War. Our problem is with those people who commit offences because they have been radicalised online or through some other contact with a third person, and I think when you look at the context of Duncan Lewis's comments, as opposed to one sentence of what he said, then I think that answers the question.
JOURNALIST:
So they're radicalised here?
PETER DUTTON:
Well in some cases clearly they are. I mean I was criticised by some within the media for making factual comments in relation to second and third generation people from Lebanese-Muslim background. Academics have written on this. The facts are well known in terms of the intake of some of those people, some of those people in the 1970s and it was well credentialed at the time, it's been scrutinised since. Those people were born here by definition of course because their parents or grandparents came here, they settled here and ultimately they've gone on to commit offences or to radicalise. They were born here. That's the point. So I think again, look at the context of all of these comments.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Dutton, are you worried at all about the $200,000 that GetUp! has raised to take you on in Dickson?
PETER DUTTON:
No. I've got to tell you, I've had since the GetUp! campaign commitments of $650,000 to fund my campaign since the GetUp! announcement. So if GetUp! wants to campaign and spend – I think a million dollars they claimed last time – I promise you I've been up against WorkChoices and union thugs, I had the CFMEU and bikies campaigning outside my office last time. I've held Dickson since 2001. I'm confident I can win it at the next election.
I've got a great local community and good support base. My office has been flooded with calls of support in terms of the work that we are doing in immigration portfolio – after GetUp! has made their announcement – but as I say the great thing is that GetUp!'s claim to have fundraised against me has brought people out of the woodwork from around the country to say that they want to support me to be re-elected in Dickon. I'm very happy for that support.
JOURNALIST:
Is the Government considering special courts to hear or to prosecute returning jihadists?
PETER DUTTON:
Not that I am aware of and if there was policy work being done in that regard, I wouldn't have any comment to make in relation to it.
JOURNALIST:
Would you support it though?
PETER DUTTON:
Well there is system that operates in the United Kingdom along those lines, but that's an issue for the Attorney-General or for the Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST:
Minister did you ask Duncan Lewis to clarify his comments…
PETER DUTTON:
…no, I've dealt with that issue.
JOURNALIST:
What does it say that the LNP in Queensland has written to the Electoral Commission asking them to [inaudible] some more conservative areas into your seat to sure it up in the redistribution?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Labor's submission, if you have a look at that Michael, they've done the same. So Labor takes some area out of Lilley, which is what they classify as blue ribbon to put it into Dickson, and the Labor Party submission also as I understand it takes some of the Labor area, Labor voting area at the north of my electorate and puts that into Longman.
So on their submission what they're doing is shoring up Longman, shoring up Lilley – I'm not sure if Mr Swan is planning on retiring or why they think they need to shore up Lilley – and they're giving their Liberal areas out of those two Labor seats to Dickson. So that would give you some idea of Labor's approach and their positioning.
And look, in the last campaign Labor ran a very dead campaign. I mean they trotted out Linda Lavarch who had a familiar surname, basically did nothing on the ground, didn't engage and GetUp! ran this deceptive campaign. I mean GetUp! is a front for the Greens and for Labor and I can tell you if GetUp! want the fight; they'll get one. I don't intend to lose to GetUp! and as I say the great thing is that I think people frankly are now seeing through GetUp!, whereas at the last election campaign they thought they were genuine on issues. Now it's clear that GetUp! is just running a Greens campaign and I call you what; the people of Dickson don't support GetUp!'s stance in relation to trashing our boats policy or our border protection policies – GetUp! never mentioned that once in the last campaign in my seat.
Frankly I think what they are doing is trying to take money from the pockets of Green voters and supporters out of Sydney and Melbourne and using me as a bit of a trophy as Immigration Minister to try and fundraise for their own organisation. I think it's a stunt and the good side out of it, from my perspective, is that they brought people out of the woodwork that want to support me and I'm very happy for that pledge.
JOURNALIST:
Minister does the Koran justify terrorism?
PETER DUTTON:
Well people can provide their own interpretations. The comment that I would make is that people who misinterpret the Koran or indeed the Bible or any other holy book, do a disservice to the vast majority of people of good faith, of law abiding nature and human decency demonstrated by religious people, including people of the Islamic faith. They seek to twist that into their own ideology and to justify their twisted murderous acts. They should be condemned for the psychopaths that they are, but they don't reflect the vast majority, the 99 per cent of people within the Muslim faith or others that are doing the right thing. There are greater religious scholars that can comment on specifics.
JOURNALIST:
Minister, are you in favour or special terror courts as Tony Abbott has suggested to deal with returning foreign fighters?
PETER DUTTON:
I just dealt with that issue.
JOURNALIST:
Minister the Federal Government has announced it is going to review all applications for asylum for Coptic Christians, is there ever a situation where you can justify sending those Copts back into a potentially dangerous or a life threatening situation?
PETER DUTTON:
Well again, I said to Shayne Neumann yesterday that he's all press release and no question because he hasn't asked a question now in I think it is 320 days. He puts out all these sort of benign press releases and then doesn't follow it up in Question Time. I mean it is embarrassing, humiliating for him really – but he can answer as to why that is the case – but again, it is not factually based.
Over the last 12 months we've allowed – I think the number is something like 70 people – from an Egyptian background who have been found to be Coptic Christians and over the course of the last five years or four years or so, the number is something like 600. So we do allow people in.
There are some cases that might be in dispute – either around the persons claim to be of a particular religious belief or in some cases people have been criticised, including through a court process about the validity of their claim, the authenticity of their documents etc – now in relation to those cases we don't allow people to settle here if we have concerns about the veracity of their claims and we are non-discriminatory on the application of that as you'd expect.
But we're not sending people back into an environment where they are likely to be persecuted – and again that doesn't apply to Egypt, but to anywhere else – but again I just say look at the facts in relation to this before you take these glib press releases as the gospel and frankly if they're not prepared to follow it up with a question in Question Time, then what claim really are they making?
JOURNALIST:
Just on the citizenship changes, Labor is saying show us the detail – you obviously can't do that until you have finished the consultation, which I think ends today – can you commit to making those submissions public so that people can see what the Government is dealing with in terms of feedback?
PETER DUTTON:
Well I saw a piece well written in The Sydney Morning Herald today in relation to some of the division within the Labor Party. I spoke about this in Question Time earlier in the week. It is clear to me that this is a test of leadership for Bill Shorten. Bill Shorten has failed the leadership test in relation to border protection policy because it is clear now that there is not bipartisan support for the Government's tough border protection policy. Labor doesn't want Temporary Protection Visas, they're wishy-washy when it comes to offshore detention and certainly the same in relation to turn backs.
Now it seems that Bill Shorten has failed a second leadership test in relation to this issue of citizenship. It is clear to me that Mr Albanese is organising the Left in relation to this issue – and no doubt the boats policy as well given his stance at National Conference – and this a bitter internal war. It is clear that Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten are involved in a civil war when it comes to what I think is a basic issue, that is; do you want people to abide by Australian laws, Australian values, do you want them to speak the English language for them to gain Australian citizenship? Mr Shorten came out quickly and said oh well yes, they're likely to support that, but it has now been almost six weeks and still to answer fundamental questions. You don't need to see legislation to answer a question on whether or not you believe somebody needs to abide by Australian values before they become an Australian citizen. That frankly is just a red herring.
Mr Shorten needs to stand up to the Left of his Party, those that are out now publicly criticising, as well as those that have argued against our policy in the caucus. He needs to show some leadership because what Australians know about Bill Shorten is that he's not a genuine bloke and they know that this guy is not who he pretends to be and it is demonstrated through, you know the talk out of both sides of his mouth on border protection and now on citizenship policy as well.
It's time for Bill Shorten to stand up to Anthony Albanese, to Tanya Plibersek and the rest of the Left within the Party because at the moment Bill Shorten is looking pretty weak. Thanks very much.
[ends]
