Subjects: Director-General’s statement on foreign interference; Labor’s immigration detention shambles; Russian sanctions; Dunkley by-election.
E&OE.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
We’re live to the Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, now. Peter, good to see you. Thanks for your time this morning.
PETER DUTTON:
Morning, Pete. My pleasure.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
So, let’s start with ASIO. So, the boss last night, he’s doubled down on the nameless traitor. Should he have done it in the first place, because all everyone’s doing now is just pointing the finger?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I guess the upside is that people are talking about what’s a very serious issue, and that is that we know that the foreign actors are very, very active in our community. We know the cyber attacks continue at an industrial pace.
I think it’s right for the ASIO boss to draw attention to the fact that there are many people here, who are targeting Australian citizens, not just within government, but within business as well, and it’s a very serious threat. It’s a threat to our democracy, it’s a threat to our rule of law, and I think Mike Burgess is right from that perspective.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. But, I mean, we’re all pointing the finger now, including us in the media here, wondering who it was. I mean, in that sense, should he have said it, knowing that all we’re going to do is speculate?
PETER DUTTON:
Well look, I think the unfortunate thing is that it casts a dark shadow or dark cloud over some former members, and that is regrettable because 99.9 per cent of Members of Parliament, on all sides, do the right thing by their country and we might take different paths to outcomes depending on your political persuasion, but ultimately, we have the best interests of our country at heart, and it just casts that shadow over former Members. I think if you’re going to come out and say that there was a former Member of Parliament who has betrayed their country, and just leave it hanging, well, it leads to the speculation that you speak about, and that’s the unfortunate part. As I said yesterday, Mike Burgess is as good as they come. I worked very closely when I had charge of ASIO, and he’s a fantastic public servant, and he would only ever do what he believes is in our country’s best interests.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. A monumental staff up by Victoria Police yesterday, on nabbing the wrong guy. Your thoughts on that, and did you jump the gun at all on using it in Parliament?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, it’s certainly regrettable, and the Victoria Police have addressed that. But look, in the end, as we know in Victoria here, including here in Dunkley, crime is a huge issue, and I think one of the frustrations I suspect that Victoria Police have got is that their efforts are distracted away from the local response that the community here demands to apply resources to what’s a monumental stuff-up by the Government of releasing 149 hardened criminals, including sex offenders. As Minister Giles pointed out in Question Time yesterday, he had been advised by the Australian Border Force and by the Australian Federal Police, that Victoria Police had made this arrest. So, we relied on his advice and the advice that obviously was publicly available.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Sure. Just in Peter, the Government has imposed financial sanctions this morning and travel bans on three Russian officials linked to that gulag where Alexei Navalny died. Are they right to do this? And is it going to make any difference?
PETER DUTTON:
They’re certainly right to do it, and we fully support the moves the Government’s made here.
Will it make a difference? I suspect not, sadly, but anything that we can do, to highlight the fact that, Alexei Navalny was a hero and he stood up for his country. He was a voice against the dictator, the murderous dictator Vladimir Putin and those around Vladimir Putin, including those, obviously, who have killed Navalny, need to be highlighted, they need to be exposed, and we need to draw the world’s attention to the tragedy of what’s happening, not just to Navalny, but to many other dissidents and people who are speaking out against a murderous regime in Russia at the moment.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Let’s finish on Dunkley, Pete. Have you got any autumnal winds in your sails this weekend?
PETER DUTTON:
Look, I’m really pleased that we’ve selected a great candidate in Nathan Conroy. Obviously, people in this by-election aren’t going to change the Government, but they can send a message to Mr Albanese and the Labor Party, because there are so many families here who are really hurting because of the decisions of the Albanese Government. The Prime Minister promised electricity would go down by $275, it’s up by close to 30 per cent. Gas is up by 30 per cent. People are paying more and more at the supermarket under this Government, and your mortgage has gone up by about $24,000 a year. So, you can understand that there is a level of anger on the ground here, and I think it’s an opportunity for the locals to select somebody who’s going to be a champion for them in Canberra, and I think somebody who has a proven record in delivering for their local community will be front of mind, and Nathan Conroy is that candidate.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Right. The Australian this morning is saying that you could well get there with a big enough swing. Are you feeling that confident?
PETER DUTTON:
Well look, Pete, there’s certainly a lot of anger from local residents here against Mr Albanese, there’s no question about that. People really feel betrayed and let down, and it’s a 6.3 per cent, that’s the other side of the ledger. So it’s a big margin. If there’s a 3 per cent swing against the Government, then that would be historic and it would be a very significant blow for Mr Albanese. I know this morning that Bill Shorten was rubbing his hands together at the thought that Mr Albanese would be under pressure as a result. But I do think people will want to send a message to the Prime Minister to say, ‘look, you know, we’re doing a tough and you’re actually making the situation worse, and you’re a Prime Minister who’s supposed to stand up for us, and instead you’ve been spending half your life overseas, you’ve spent $450 million on the Voice that just divided the country, and the cost of living pressures that people are experiencing just aren’t being addressed by this bad Government’. I think the Prime Minister’s weak leadership has been on display, and I don’t think people like what they’ve been seeing.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Peter Dutton, the Opposition Leader, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
[ends]