Subjects: Operation Sovereign Borders; Labor’s border security crisis; polling; the Prime Minister’s shocking betrayal on the stage three tax cuts; Dunkley by-election.
E&OE.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The arrival of 40 asylum seekers on the coast of WA has sparked a political firestorm.
SARAH ABO:
Members of both Parties taking aim at each other over the handling of our borders and joining us for more is Opposition Leader Peter Dutton now, in Melbourne.
Peter, good morning to you.
PETER DUTTON:
‘Morning Sarah.
SARAH ABO:
The PM insists everything is under control. I mean we’re talking about 40 asylum seekers and a 35,000 kilometre coastline.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, it’s not under control when you’ve got a Prime Minister who, the first he knew about this boat, was when the media asked him about it. I don’t believe that there are proper surveillance methods in place. They’ve ripped $600 million out of Operation Sovereign Borders and the Department.
This is not Operation Sovereign Borders as we knew it when the Coalition was in power. They’ve abolished one of the important links of Operation Sovereign Borders, which was temporary protection visas; and don’t forget, it comes off the back of a similar boat not too long ago.
So, the Government’s got all sorts of problems here, and it’s a weak Prime Minister being tested by people smugglers, and when the Prime Minister says to you, ‘there’s nothing to see here’, you know, once again, he’s not telling the truth.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Well, he says that you’re just politicising border security. I mean I can’t imagine that, but you are throwing some serious shade on Operation Sovereign Borders, and you’ve ticked off a Rear Admiral.
PETER DUTTON:
Well look, if the Government’s got something to say, the Prime Minister should have the guts to come out and say it. I’m very happy to have a public debate because when the Prime Minister says that ‘Operation Sovereign Borders is as it was under the Coalition’, that is just a lie.
The fact is that the temporary protection visa is a very important part of telling those people who want to pay money in tragic circumstances to get on a boat, that they won’t get a permanent outcome, yet under this Government they can.
On top of the High Court release of the 149 criminals, the people smugglers look at that and they package it up in a social media message on their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, and they email it out to people that they know are willing to pay money to get on a boat to say, ‘look, even if you’ve committed a criminal offence, eventually in Australia, you’ll get out into the community’. It’s all that layer upon layer of weakness displayed by the Government, that is what emboldens people smugglers and what encourages people to pay their money and get on the boat. We just don’t want to see a restart of boats like it was in the Gillard years.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
How is their policy different to yours?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, in two important ways. Firstly, they’ve abolished the temporary protection visas. Secondly, they’ve reduced the amount of surveillance that’s underway, right across the North West Coast, and that is a very important element of the success of Operation Sovereign Borders.
There are three elements of Sovereign Borders, Karl: turning back boats where it’s safe to do so, offshore detention and temporary protection visas. So, they’ve pulled one of the legs out with TPVs, and they’re sending bad messages. As I say, we’ve got to realise that the people smugglers are sophisticated, they monitor every word the Prime Minister says, the Minister for Home Affairs says, and if they see a vulnerability, they pitch that and they pitch it to the people who are willing to pay money. Unfortunately, it starts then to get momentum and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen, and they’ve also ripped $600 million out of the program, which is why they haven’t got the proper surveillance arrangements in place.
SARAH ABO:
But Peter, I mean, they’re also going to look at what you’re saying, aren’t they, these people smugglers? And see that there is disunity within the Coalition and the Government, and just generally in Parliament, and that’s going to be exploited.
I mean, that’s what the Rear Admiral is saying, that this is something that you should be not so alarmed about.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I just think if we stick out heads in the sand and pretend that nothing’s happening here and just take the Prime Minister at his word, we’ll end up with an armada of boats, and that’s the last thing anybody wants.
We got the children out of detention that Labor put into detention, we stopped the people drowning at sea, who were drowning at sea under Labor, and we put in place a strong border protection policy, we increased our ability to take people in through the humanitarian program the right way.
Anthony Albanese has never believed in border protection or Operation Sovereign Borders. That’s the reality from many years in Government and Opposition he’s argued against any position around Operation Sovereign Borders. He puts on a brave face now as Prime Minister, but I don’t think many people believe that he’s telling the truth.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. The latest poll – moving on – Labor unscathed, but unrewarded. A seven per cent fall in your personal approval rating. Is there any danger in pushing negative messages?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I put it down to the Today show, Karl. I do it each Friday and somehow it’s dragging me down. I’m not sure what the story is…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Mate, that’s given you the seven per cent.
PETER DUTTON:
Imagine what it would have been without the Today show.
Look, I think in Opposition you’ve got two jobs. I mean one is to hold the Government to account, the second is to put your own policies out, and the Labor Party spends every waking hour bagging the crap out of me; so what would you expect?
We’ve held the Government to account, particularly – I mean, the Prime Minister’s just flat out lied to the Australian people about tax cuts. When you point that out, people get that that’s what happened. They don’t like it, and they probably don’t like you pointing it out, but there’s that job, and there’s also the job, as I say, of coming up with policies. We’ve done that in a few areas already. We’re still 12, 18 months away from an election, so we’ll put more of that out.
I think what it shows is that the Government’s in real trouble when they can spend the money they did – tens and tens of billions of dollars on tax cuts, and it doesn’t move the dial even a single point. So, it’s a contest running up to the next election, but still a long way to go.
SARAH ABO:
Peter Dutton, you weren’t super confident last week on Dunkley. After spending the weekend in Melbourne, how are you feeling about it?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, we’ve got a cracking candidate. Nathan Conroy’s the local Mayor there, he’s 31, he’s really well respected in the local community, but they’re are obviously tragic circumstances where the previous Member passed away, and so there’s not a level of anger that you would see in a by-election if somebody retired mid-term and caused the cost of a by-election.
So, there’s a big negative campaign against Nathan, because he’s popular and against me, and again, the stuff that Labor’s putting out is just factually incorrect, but they keep asserting that because they know that that negative works. So, they’ll continue that.
I think we’ve got a strong program, we’ve promised $900 million for the Frankston-Baxter railway line, we were out at Bruce Park yesterday talking with the locals there about a $3 million upgrade to facilities for young girls to be able to participate in local sport…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright. We’ve got to run Pete.
PETER DUTTON:
So, we’ve got a really good program, but it’ll be tight.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
We got to run.
PETER DUTTON:
Okay, thanks guys.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Good on you mate. Thank you.
[ends]