Finally the fowl Greenies are shoved into the garbage can.Abbott supports Dutton’s SA farmers invitationAMM 20/03/2018
As we have said on these pages, Australia should get wise to the value criteria of the best kind of immigrants allowed to settle. We want skilled workers not unskilled bludgers of any colour. We must therefore ignore the cries of racism from those without care to social cohesion and prosperity of Australia.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott says Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is “absolutely right” about the need to prioritise white South African farmers through Australia’s refugee program. Wading into the internal and diplomatic furore over Mr Dutton’s remarks, Mr Abbott said the situation in South Africa was a “national crisis” and “racism of the worst sort”, and backed the call for intervention – despite Foreign Minister Julie Bishop rejecting the idea at the weekend.
Tony Abbott says Peter Dutton is ‘absolutely right’ about white South African farmersSource: Fairfax
“There is a very serious situation developing in South Africa. Something like 400 white farmers have been murdered, brutally murdered, over the last 12 months,” Mr Abbott told 2GB radio.
The farmers were being murdered by “squatters intent on driving them off their land”, he said, and it would be a “national crisis” if the same thing were happening to Australian farmers.
“If the boot was on the other foot we would call it racism of the worst sort,” Mr Abbott said.
“I think we should acknowledge this as a very, very serious issue of justice and fairness and freedom for people who are trying to do the right thing.
“I think that Peter Dutton was absolutely right to say that under our humanitarian intake program there ought to be a place for people who are being persecuted this way.”
Mr Dutton’s bid for some sort of special refugee program for white farmers has stoked not only internal tensions within Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet but a diplomatic furore with South Africa. That country’s foreign ministry has refuted the assertion that white farmers are persecuted and demanded an apology for Mr Dutton’s claim they needed help from a “civilised country” such as Australia.
The statistic cited by Mr Abbott – that 400 white farmers have been murdered in the past year – has appeared in several media reports, including in Australia, but is disputed. According to Africa Check, a fact-checking website, police and researchers counted 74 farm murders in the 12 months between April 2016 and March 2017, with victims’ races not recorded.
South Africa has demanded Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton retract his comments that the country’s white farmers are being “persecuted” and deserve protection with special visas from a “civilised country”.
At the weekend, Ms Bishop rejected Mr Dutton’s pitch for “special attention”, telling the ABC’s Insiders program the “credibility [of the refugee program] comes from the fact that it is non-discriminatory and that each application is assessed on its merits”. There were “no plans” to alter the program, Ms Bishop said.
However, the program is Mr Dutton’s responsibility as Home Affairs Minister and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Mr Turnbull is yet to publicly articulate a view on the issue.
Ms Bishop confirmed Australia’s high commissioner to South Africa was “called in” for a meeting with the government in Pretoria following Mr Dutton’s remarks, and explained the nature of Australia’s refugee program.
Mr Dutton last week revealed he had instructed his department to examine ways of giving special treatment to white South African farmers, observing there was already a large cohort of South Africans settled in Australia who integrated well and did not live off welfare.
“They’re the sorts of migrants we want to bring into our country,” Mr Dutton said.
COMMENTSGraham Richards 20/03/2018, 7:15 am
The statistic of 400 farmers having been murdered is misleading. Since independence in 1994, when the farm murders started the figure is much bigger. It’s more like 10,000.
Murder of citizens across the population according to government statistics runs ar around 52 per day, or 20,000 per annum. I have seen reports which originated with the CIA of figures reaching 80,000 per annum.
Turnbull of course will not comment from his usual position on a high fence. When he’s figured out what is a safe stance to take he’ll no doubt waffle some crap about his government’s fair & measured reaction. Can’t offend anyone as usual.
Pensioner Pete 20/03/2018, 7:18 am
And thus, the absolute hypocrisy of ‘racism’ is now clearly exposed for all who wish to see. As the Monk says, should these people been black Africans, then all would bend over backwards to impose sanctions, cut trade ties, cease all sporting links, marches in the streets. Yet, this time, because the people being killed and under real threat of assault, rape, murder of the most horrific type, plus expulsion from farming land they own, are WHITE, the gutless UN, our gutless government and the gutless left wingers, wish for the white South African farmers, to continue to suffer such horrors with no remedy, may a pox fall upon all their hypocritical houses.
http://morningmail.org/abbott-supports-duttons-sa-farmers-invite/#more-78279