African crime a Victorian problem, Alan Tudge says

Alan Tudge says the Sudanese communities in NSW and Queensland do not share the southern state’s crime statistics.

Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge says there’s a similar sized Sudanese population in Sydney as there is in Melbourne. Picture: AAP

Citizenship and Multiculturalism Minister Alan Tudge says the over-representation of Sudanese-born people in Victoria’s crime statistics indicates a state law and order problem, because the same level of crime is not being seen in Sudanese communities in NSW and Queensland.

Mr Tudge made the comments following the death over the weekend of 19-year-old Melbourne woman Laa Chol, who was fatally stabbed an out-of-control party held in a city high-rise by a group of young African-Australians.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has described Ms Chol’s death as “proof of a major law and order problem”.

Mr Tudge said crime data told the story of a “very significant problem” in Melbourne, blaming the Andrews Labor government and “weak” magistrates and judges.

“Basically the crime data is kept by country of origin, and what it shows is that typically the Australian-born commit most of the crime, naturally, because three quarters of Victoria are Australian-born, but often now, Sudanese-born is number two or number three, despite them being a tiny proportion of the population, so there clearly is an issue going on there, and the Victorian public know this,” Mr Tudge told Sky News.

“The interesting thing though, is that there isn’t the Sudanese problem in New South Wales, nor in Queensland, despite the fact that there is a similar-sized Sudanese population in Sydney, so to me that says it’s actually a law and order problem right here in Victoria.

“We know that they are weak on crime here in Victoria, and I think that many of the gang members know that they can get away with it, and consequently continue to commit it.”

Asked what he meant about Victorian being “weak on crime”, Mr Tudge cited lighter sentences in Victoria compared with NSW.

“That’s been covered quite extensively now, and further, the police will tell you that they will spend often hours or weeks or months trying to get a case together, only then to find that a magistrate might only give that person a slap on the wrist, and then that person goes out and commits the crime again,” Mr Tudge said.

“People understand this, I think. The gang members understand this. They know they can get away with things, they get a bit of status associated with being a gang member, and consequently the action continues.

“I think most importantly in terms of what’s required here in Victoria, almost generally rather than specifically in relation to some of the Sudanese gang problems, is tougher action on crime.

“We need tougher penalties, we need stronger judges to enact those penalties so that people realise that if you do something bad, there will be consequences.”

Mr Tudge hit back at Greens Member for Melbourne Adam Bandt, who last week declared Mr Dutton and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were “not welcome in Melbourne”, accusing them of trying to “use race to win votes and whip up hatred” in comments about African gang violence in Victoria.

“I say to Adam, a) look at the data, and b) go out there and talk to people, because many members of the Melbourne community particularly are concerned about law and order,” Mr Tudge said.

“Absolutely they are, and we’ve had atrocious things which have been occurring in recent months which haven’t typically been part of what’s going on in Melbourne, particularly in terms of car-jackings and home invasions.

“Those sort of things do scare people. I hear this in my electorate all the time.

“I say, yes, it’s been largely committed by people of South Sudan, but only from a small section of the South Sudanese community, and I say that it’s not necessarily a Sudanese issue as such, because there’s a Sudanese population in Sydney but you don’t have the problems there.

“That’s why I do think it’s a law and order issue most importantly, and why we’re calling on the Daniel Andrews government to take stronger action in relation to law and order, so that people know there will be consequences for any crime that they commit.”

Mr Tudge denied the problem was an integration issue, saying the same services had been provided to immigrants in Sydney as exist in Melbourne.

“Of course we can always do better in terms of service delivery, in terms of integration of people, but when you just look plainly on the facts of it, what distinguishes Melbourne from Sydney in relation to this, is I think that we have been too weak on crime here in this state, the Daniel Andrews government has weakened the laws, we’ve got magistrates who don’t apply sometimes I think strong enough penalties, and consequently people know they can get away with things.”

Asked why the government had not been singling out New Zealanders, who represent 1.6 per cent of the Victorian population but account for 2.2 per cent of crimes, Mr Tudge said the government had been talking about crime in Victoria generally for some time.

“There is a particular problem with some South Sudanese youth. I’ve spoken to some of the South Sudanese leaders here in Victoria about that,” Mr Tudge said.

“They acknowledge that there is an issue and that more needs to be done in relation to it, and we shouldn’t shy away from calling out the issue as we see it and the data does show it.

“Where there’s Kiwis that have been committing crime, as you know, if they’re not Australian citizens as well, if they’re committing crime here, we’re booting them out of the country and sending them back to New Zealand.

“We don’t want criminal activity here in this city of Melbourne or indeed anywhere across the country, and we need to have proper law and order policies in place to ensure there is that deterrent effect.

“We need to have proper law and order policies in place, and I know that’s what Matthew Guy will do if he’s elected premier later this year.”

Over-representation and nature of crimes justify concern over Sudanese: Wilson

Liberal backbencher Tim Wilson said the over-representation of Sudanese in crime statistics, and the nature of the crimes they commit, justified concern among Melburnians.

“The fact of the matter is there’s been a significant spike in crime, home invasions, car-jackings, under the Andrews government in Victoria,” Mr Wilson told Sky News.

“When you speak to people, my constituents on the ground, they’re quite clear about who they think are responsible for the growth in crime: not just lenient sentencing, but an attitude of permissiveness, frankly, by this government, and that’s why it’s become such an important issue, and of course gangs are an important part of that, because people have seen the rise of gangs and particularly from the Sudanese community, and people are calling and demanding answers, and the only way that we can practically identify and address a problem is to name it, to deal with it honestly, and then to work with the communities to tackle the fundamental problem that’s occurring.”

Mr Wilson said that while the one per cent of crimes for which Sudanese in Victoria are responsible was not a large percentage, but was concerning given only 0.1 per cent of the population are Sudanese.

“No one’s trying to pretend (Sudanese gang crime is) the majority of the crime that’s occurring in Victoria, but when you see the growth rates, particularly in terms of violent crime, it’s a serious issue, and we’ve got to tackle it and we’ve got to confront it, and it’s also something frankly that worries the community,” He said.

Mr Wilson said his constituents in the Melbourne bayside seat of Goldstein often raised the issue.

“The task for all of us is to be open, to be honest, to agree that yes, it’s not the majority of the crime, but it is where some of the most significant growth is occurring,” he said.

“It’s also where some particular types of crimes are occurring, and it’s something we have to work with the community to address.

“Yes, I’m a proud Melburnian, yes I feel comfortable going out at night, but I know people who aren’t, and I have had constituents raise with me that they don’t feel safe going out to dinner or they’re not as comfortable as they used to be, and so to try and say that that’s not an accurate representation of how some people feel would be misleading.”