6 years ago
A RETURN TO HOME AFFAIRS
SHAYNE NEUMANN MP
Peter Dutton – the man responsible for the chaos, infighting, and division that has consumed the Government over the past week and wrecked the Liberal Party – has been rewarded by the new Prime Minister.
Instead of leaving Peter Dutton on the backbench, Scott Morrison has caved and appointed his leadership challenger to his Cabinet, returning him to the role of Minister for Home Affairs.
Scott Morrison needs to make sure his Minister’s ongoing failure to manage his portfolio is put on notice and he’s not beholden to Peter Dutton, and his demands, like Malcolm Turnbull was.
It’s time Peter Dutton gets on with the job he’s been given – rather than the one he wants – and immediately take action on a number of pressing matters in his portfolio including:
- Explaining how the chaos and division inside the Government put the security of Australia’s borders at risk with a suspected asylum seeker vessel arriving in Australia for the first time in four years;
- Cooperating fully with the Senate inquiry into allegations concerning the inappropriate exercise of ministerial powers with respect to the visa status of au pairs. The inquiry and its hearings in the coming weeks will investigate why the Minister took steps to grant visas in a number of individual cases – even in instances when his own Department deemed granting a visa high risk;
- Responding to, and acting on, the reasonable recommendations in the report of the Labor-initiated Senate Inquiry following the leaked Nauru files handed down sixteen months ago;
- Prioritising the health and welfare of asylum seeker and refugee children in the Australian-funded regional processing centre on Nauru following numerous concerning media and stakeholder reports relating to the psychological wellbeing of children; and
- Immediately accepting New Zealand's offer to resettle children and other eligible refugees from Manus and Nauru as quickly as possible. If Malcolm Turnbull was able to negotiate appropriate conditions for the US refugee resettlement agreement to prevent people smugglers exploiting vulnerable people, Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison should be able to negotiate similar appropriate conditions for any deal with New Zealand.
Meanwhile, David Coleman has been promoted to Minister for Immigration, Citizenship & Multicultural Affairs – however this position is not in Scott Morrison’s Cabinet.
This means the Minister responsible for one of the most complex areas of policy – including Australia’s permanent migration intake, our humanitarian program, and temporary work visas – won’t have a voice in Cabinet.
Labor hopes the new Immigration Minister will be able to maintain a strong voice in the Government whilst cleaning up the failures of Peter Dutton. These include the Department’s go-slow visa processing which has led to a record number of people on bridging visas and the failure to deliver a temporary sponsored parent visa which was promised at the last Federal election.
Labor believes it’s time for the Government to set aside their chaos and division and finally get on with the job.
If they don’t, a Shorten Labor Government will.