This article is an instalment in a new series, “Peter Dutton is racist”, on Dutton’s history of racism and the role racism has played on both sides of politics since the 1970s.
On August 29, Crikey emailed Peter Dutton’s office with the following request, then followed it with a text message and phone call last week and another phone call today. We’re yet to receive a response to the message below.
Crikey is preparing a series of articles on racism in Australian politics and the exploitation of racism by Labor and the Coalition parties, including an article on Mr Dutton’s comments over the years on race or race-related issues.
We’d like a response on the following:
Mr Dutton has seemingly evidenced racism or race-related prejudice on three issues since 2008:
- In March 2010 he was reported as endorsing comments by Wilson Tuckey, that acknowledgements of traditional owners were a “farce”, that some Indigenous people who perform Welcome To Country ceremonies were “grossly overweight”, that the “best” Indigenous people had got out of Australia was a “population of 300,000 people” and the 1967 referendum “was the worst thing that’s happened for Aboriginal people in history”. Mr Dutton was reported as responding to the comments “I don’t have any issue with what Wilson said frankly or his right to say it.”
- Mr Dutton has long been critical of refugees and asylum seekers — that they’re illiterate and take jobs or languish in jobless queues, that the Fraser government should not have allowed Lebanese-Muslim refugees in, references to “Armani refugees”, or his recent opposition to Palestinian refugees being admitted from Gaza. However, Mr Dutton has supported the entry of white South African farmers fleeing violence in South Africa, suggesting racial preference.
- In November 2018 in the wake of a fatal attack by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali in Bourke St in Melbourne, Mr Dutton said “But it is a time for community members to step up … We need to be realistic about the threat and the idea that community leaders would have information, but withhold it from the police or intelligence agencies is unacceptable.” There was no public evidence that Muslim community leaders withheld any evidence about Shire Ali, who had been vetted by ASIO, an agency that was in Dutton’s own portfolio at the time.
Questions:
- Does Mr Dutton stand by his comments in each of these instances? (He has reported to have apologised in relation to comments about Lebanese Muslims, but we can’t find a source.)
- Do these examples indicate that Mr Dutton either holds, or endorses others holding, critical views of Indigenous people, a racial preference regarding refugees coming to Australia and unjustified criticism of the Muslim community of a kind he has not repeated about other groups in the wake of terrorist violence?
- Crikey has also collated the attached collection of quotes from Mr Dutton. Does he believe this is a fair representation of his stance on race or race-related issues?
Do you think Peter Dutton is racist? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
