Peter Dutton under fire over attacks on Lebanese Muslims

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has singled out Lebanese Muslims as a source of concern over domestic terrorism.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has singled out Lebanese Muslims as a source of concern over domestic terrorism in a political brawl with Labor about whether mistakes were made decades ago in allowing some of the community to migrate to Australia.

Mr Dutton revealed yesterday that 22 of the past 33 people charged with terrorist offences in Australia had come from second- and third-generation Lebanese Muslim backgrounds.

Bill Shorten demanded Malcolm Turnbull order the minister to apologise for his comments, saying hard-working migrant communities should not have to tolerate the “ignorant stupidity”.

“There is no place in this country for hurtful, divisive comments like Mr Dutton’s,” Mr Shorten said after the row flared in question time.

The Lebanese Muslim Association has also condemned the “implicit racial vilification” in Mr Dutton’s remarks about migrants who came to Australia in the 1970s.

The furore came after Mr Shorten challenged Mr Dutton over his comments to Andrew Bolt on Sky News last week, when he said: “The reality is Malcolm Fraser did make mistakes in bringing some people in the 1970s.”

Mr Dutton argued yesterday that parliament should face up to mistakes made in the past.

“I am not going to allow people who are hard working, who have done the right thing by this country, who have contributed, who have worked hard and who have educated their children to be defined by those people who are doing the wrong thing and have been charged with terrorist offences or have been involved in crime otherwise,” he said.

He rejected Labor claims that his comments about the 1970s were about Vietnamese migration.

Mr Dutton rather praised the contribution of migrants from Vietnam, other parts of Asia, Lebanon and war-torn Europe.

“I am going to call out those people who are doing the wrong thing,” he said.

“If we pretend otherwise, my judgment is that we only compound these problems.”