Malcolm Turnbull comes to Peter Dutton’s defence again

IMMIGRATION Minister Peter Dutton continues to have the PM’s support despite his comments about Lebanese-Australians. But for how much longer?

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton continues to have the support of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: AAP/Lukas Coch

ANALYSIS

PETER Dutton has become the most controversial Immigration Minister since Arthur “two Wongs don’t make a White” Calwell.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has offered swift defence of his Queensland colleague’s competence and compassion.

But the frequency of those rallies indicates he knows not all are convinced.

And he has kept his distance from Mr Dutton’s extraordinary attack on the refugee policies of the late Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and three generations of Lebanese Australians.

“Cocky” Calwell was Immigration Minister from 1945-49 when he was in charge of a massive, “populate or perish”, post-war inflow of European migrants under the Labor Chifley government.

Later a party leader, he was a fierce enforcer of the White Australia policy.

Mr Dutton regrets the intake of Lebanese Muslims more than 40 years ago; Arthur Calwell regretted the acceptance of Indonesian, Malaysian and Chinese refugees during World War II.

So he set about deporting them.

In 1947 he explained to Parliament a mix-up in which a man named Wong was being expelled when the order was meant for another with the same name.

He cracked a joke which included a reference to a stiffly conservative MP Thomas White.

“There are many Wongs in the Chinese community, but I have to say — and I am sure that the honourable member for Balaclava will not mind doing so — that two Wongs do not make a White,” he said.

It was a backhanded attempt at wit, not a racialist equation arguing against assimilation. But there is no doubting that Calwell was not a champion of the Wongs of the world.

And Mr Dutton risks having an angry prejudice based on religion and country of origin dominate his record.

“Get angry” appears to be a chief operating instruction for Mr Dutton’s policy debate style.

During Question Time on Monday, away from the cameras and Hansard scribes, he and Labor’s Anthony Albanese swapped snarling barbs.

It was an extraordinary verbal shootout. They sit close to the chair of Speaker Tony Smith who had to intervene to stop the ugly exchange.

Mr Dutton has leadership ambitions and he believes his handling of Immigration, including the quasi-military deployment of Border Force and the revised prime objective of his department — from welcoming people to keeping them out — is a solid political foundation for that aim.

However, some of his colleagues can’t understand why he continues to fire up border protection when it no longer is an active issue for most voters.

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

And some are reluctant to maintain the serial defence of his ministry.

But we can expect to see another episode today with news a parliamentary inquiry has challenged the legality of Mr Dutton’s personally-managed legislation to impose lifetime bans on refugees even visiting Australia as tourists if they become citizens of third countries.

“The right to seek asylum, irrespective of the mode of transit, is protected under international law,” says the findings of the government-dominated inquiry.

“The ban may also have a disproportionate negative effect on individuals from particular national origins; nationalities; or on the basis of race, which gives rise to concerns regarding indirect discrimination on these grounds.”

At 9.46pm last night inquiry chairman, Liberal Ian Goodenough, was mobilised to deliver a pro-Dutton version of the findings of his own committee.

He pleaded, on behalf of all Government committee members, for senators to support the Dutton legislation because it was “critical to prevent people smuggling and their evil trade”.

Mr Goodenough said the legal advice “represents one opinion”.

“As with most of the committee’s reports, the minister has merely been asked to provide further information,” he said.

Mr Turnbull will continue to stand by his minister, particularly when it seems the Pacific Solution dead ends of Manus and Nauru detention centres could become through roads to third countries.

Yesterday he said Mr Dutton was doing an outstanding job.

“Peter Dutton, building on the work of Scott Morrison, has stopped the people smuggling business,” he said.

“The people smugglers have been stopped. People are not drowning at sea. He’s closed 17 detention centres in Australia and there are no children in detention.

“When Labor lost the election in 2013 and the Coalition came into government, there were 2000 children in detention. They had put 8000 in over their time.

“I mean, the massive failure on immigration policy of the Labor Party in very recent times is something we all are still living with the consequences of.”