Subjects: The Teals and Greens’ disgraceful parliamentary stunt on yesterday’s bipartisan Israel motion; the barbaric attacks on Israel and the ramifications around Australia; Australia votes ‘no’ to the Prime Minister’s divisive Voice, Treaty, Truth proposal.
E&OE
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton joins us now from Canberra.
Peter, good morning to you.
PETER DUTTON:
‘Morning, Karl.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The Teals and Greens want to move a war crimes motion in Parliament against Israel. You wouldn’t be surprised by that, would you? That’s precisely what their electorates think.
PETER DUTTON:
I just think it’s quite remarkable, Karl, for the Teals to join up with the Greens in a move against Israel at a time when there are still Israelis who are being held as hostages. You’ve seen the beheading of children, you’ve seen the attacks, the rapes, the slaughter of those young people in the desert, and you’ve got the Teals joining with the Greens condemning Israel. I mean, it’s quite remarkable, and it’s why I think there’s been quite a significant backlash from the Jewish community here in Australia against them.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The US has moved a fair bit of logistics into the area and we may see boots in a supporting role on the ground there. Do you ever see a circumstance where you’d support Aussie boots on the ground there?
PETER DUTTON:
I don’t see any circumstance where Australians are rolled out into the Middle East in relation to this conflict. I think the Israelis have been very definite in building up their forces. They’ve obviously got a compulsory military service when young people enrol and some of those skills were deployed, sadly, during the terrorist attacks – but it’s going to be a bloody situation.
I think we should always remind ourselves that Hamas is the one that’s created this situation. It’s an ISIL-type organisation. The terrorist attacks have led to loss of life – now of about 1,400 Israelis or more and obviously Palestinians as well – and this is why people need to heed the advice to be safe and to move to safe areas. I understand the angst and the concern and the historical implications, but the fact is that Hamas, as I understand, is advising some people to stay where they are, essentially in harm’s way. Hamas is not the solution for the Palestinian people. It’s not the solution for peace in the Middle East. They’re a terrorist organisation, listed as such in this country, and that was a listing that was supported by both sides of Parliament. So, we should always bear that in mind.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
There’s going to be a line in there, somewhere. Where is that line drawn?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Karl, I mean, conflict has gone on for a long period of time, and I fear that it’ll go on for many years into the future in the Middle East. But Israelis have the right to exist. They’ve been persecuted, and this has been the worst attack on Israeli citizens, on the Jewish population, since the Holocaust where six million people were gassed. This is a situation that’s deteriorating very quickly, and, as you say, the United States is shifting assets into the region, which is prudent because they want to take the temperature down, they don’t want an all in Middle Eastern conflict with Iran and Hezbollah, etc., are involved. But this is a very dire circumstance.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright. You met with the Prime Minister yesterday – moving on from that topic. I presume you had a chat about the Voice. Was that what you were talking about in Parliament before it started?
PETER DUTTON:
We were talking about the motion yesterday that came before the Parliament, the one you referred to before, where the Teals and Greens voted against Israel. So, that was the basis of the discussion.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
I guess the question in relation to the Voice is why both sides weren’t ready for what comes next. It was all pretty clear the Referendum would fail. Is there any way forward on recognition? What are you prepared to accept given the size of the ‘No’ vote?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, Karl, we’ve always said, I mean, right back to John Howard, all of my predecessors, we’ve all had the same view, and that is that we should have constitutional recognition. But you can only do it when you’re going to, not be assured, but have pretty close to an assurance that you’ve got a bipartisan position and success at the constitutional referendum. Now, I think people are well and truly fatigued after the weekend, so nobody’s talking about going to that process any time soon. Quite the opposite. I mean, we’d pleaded with the Prime Minister all year to turn the question into one of constitutional recognition, which would have been a unifying moment for the country. Nobody wanted the Voice. He couldn’t explain it, he’s not, you know, committed now it seems to Makarrata, and to the Treaty, and telling the Indigenous leaders one thing and then telling the public something else.
So it’s divided our country, it’s humiliated the Prime Minister. I think, really, we need to start now concentrating – and cut away a lot of the crap and start concentrating on the practical outcomes for Indigenous people. We need to get kids to school, we need safety, we need a reduction in domestic violence.
People work hard for their tax dollars, and those tax dollars should be spent wisely and appropriately in those Indigenous communities and not wasted. I think that’s the focus of the Government now, instead of a 30 year Treaty process that the Prime Minister’s committed to – or depending on who he’s talking to – he’s committed to that, at the cost literally of tens of billions of dollars.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Look, I asked you on Friday if you’d walk away from a second referendum. You were never going to do it, right? I mean, and the PM attest yesterday that you’re ‘all trailer and no movie’, is that true?
PETER DUTTON:
All trailer, no trash?! So, depends on your perspective!
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Bit like Sharknado 4. You know, all trailer, no film.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, there’s a few examples of that – and it’s a bit of a pot calling the kettle black at the moment, hearing that from Anthony Albanese! But look, I think the time now is for the practical outcomes.
We’ve had a position where we’ve said if there’s bipartisan support for recognition, if the Indigenous leaders support it, then I think the public would support it and that would actually have been the outcome that would have united our country…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
I think that’s right.
PETER DUTTON:
…last Saturday instead of the division we’ve ended up with.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright, good to talk to you. Thanks, Pete.
[ends]