THE HON ALAN TUDGE MP MINISTER FOR CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS TRANSCRIPT DOORSTOP PARLIAMENT HOUSE 15 August 2018 Subjects: Senator Anning’s maiden speech, Victorian crime, NEG E&OE… ALAN TUDGE: Fraser Anning’s comments on immigration reflect neither the views of the Government nor of fair minded Australians. We will always have a non-discriminatory immigration program. And I think his comments about the “final solution were particularly offensive, and he ought to apologise for those remarks, given the historical context of that particular phrase. Australia is the most successful multicultural country on Earth, where we have welcomed people from around the world to our shores. We have asked them to contribute, to adopt Australian values, and to enrich Australia, and by and large they have done that in spades. We will continue to work on policies which refine our immigration program, which refine measures to ensure integration and to guarantee social cohesion moving forward. But I don’t think Fraser Anning’s comments last night contribute at all to those objectives. We have a plan in front of us, we want to ensure that we maintain Australia’s multicultural success. We have been better than anyone else in the world at this, and we want to continue to see this. JOURNALIST: This morning, Senator Anning has refused to apologise for his “final solution” comment [indistinct]. ALAN TUDGE: It’s obviously up to him but I think he should apologise, specifically for that “final solution” comment. I appreciate that he says that he didn’t mean it in an offensive manner, but we all know the historical context of that particular phrase and the sensitivity of that particular phrase. Even if he didn’t mean it in that way he should clarify, apologise and move on. JOURNALIST: If Australia is the most successful multicultural nation as you say, why is it that people like Senator Anning make comments like this? Why is that message not coming through to people like him? ALAN TUDGE: You will have to speak to him as to why he made those particular comments. We don’t share those comments and I don’t think fair-minded Australians share those views in relation to that. There are also a number of comments he made which are factually incorrect. He was talking about the 457 program, for example, which we abolished and have replaced because of some of the issues we identified. He was talking about the family reunion program, saying that said they should be reserved for spouses, for husbands and wives, and for children of a sponsoring citizen. By and large that is the case. Ninety per cent of the family reunion program goes precisely to those categories, so not only were there some comments which were deeply offensive, such as the “final solution” comment, but there were also factual inaccuracies in his speech. JOURNALIST: What do you think about some of the comments that other MPs have made around what’s happening in Victoria in terms African gangs, is this damaging in terms of getting out a message of multiculturalism? ALAN TUDGE: I think we need to be honest but respectful in relation to the issues which confront us. In Victoria, as you know, there are serious issues in relation to a small subset of the South Sudanese community and the level of crime which they are causing. And it is causing fear amongst a lot of Victorians. I know myself because I live in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and I know what my local constituents tell me. We also look at the crime stats and it certainly shows there is a considerable over-representation of South Sudanese in relation to some of those serious crimes. So let’s be honest about those issues and let’s talk respectfully about them. I often refer to the fact that there isn’t a South Sudanese crime problem in Sydney despite the highest concentration of Sudanese and South Sudanese being in suburbs there. Clearly this is something going on in Victoria rather than it being a Sudanese issue as such. JOURNALIST: Just briefly on the NEG - Tony Abbott has said that the party room raised grave reservations in over the policy, how would you characterize that? ALAN TUDGE: I would characterise our party room as being completely united around wanting to lower electricity prices. Thanks very much. |
