February 25, 2025
PETA CREDLIN: More revelations today about just how far Tony Burke is willing to use government citizenship events to harvest votes for Labor. The Daily Telegraph has done the legwork here on the seats that Burke went after in his massive weekend citizenship ceremony at Sydney's Olympic Park. There were some 4500 people granted the right at the event to call Australia home. of those in attendance, almost 1000 of them are recorded as living in the Parramatta Local Government Area. Now, this Parramatta LGA takes in two of Labor's key marginals, the Seat of Parramatta, held by Andrew Charlton on a thin margin of 3.7% and the seat of Reed, held by Sally Sitou. Now, there's more here. The highest number of citizens also came from Liverpool. That takes in the Labor electorate of Werriwa that's held by Anne Stanley on a margin of 5.3% and of course, Fowler, held by the Independent. Dai Le, who we showed here last night, is not impressed by the whole saga. Joining me is someone who's been pushing this hard in Senate Estimates, Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson. Well, Senator welcome. If you look at the breakdown of those seats, and as I say, they're all marginal or the key Labor targets seats. This is absolutely rank politics at play. But how does it also not undermine our faith in the whole process of citizenship?
JAMES PATERSON: Well, Peta, this is the most dangerous thing about this reckless and desperate move that Tony Burke and the Albanese government have entered into. They're obviously doing this for political reasons. It's clear from the way that the Minister and MPs have behaved around these events that they're politically motivated. But what that risks is Australia's support for our migration system and our citizenship system. If some Australians believe that the Labor Party is using the migration system for political advantage to change political outcomes, what do you think they're going to think about whether or not it's a good idea to welcome people to Australia? Whether it's a good idea to facilitate people to come to be an Australian citizen? I think migration has been hugely beneficial to our country. I think we're stronger for it. But if it's politicised like this, then don't expect Australians to stand by it much longer.
CREDLIN: And of course, you've got about two years, once you're an Australian citizen, to get on the electoral roll. But from November last year, Labor's forced AEC officials from electoral Commission officials to be down the back of the room, you know, with tables set up, waving around the forms to sign people up and basically grabbing them as they are walking out the door.
PATERSON: Exactly, Peta, and they even put a huge QR code on a 15-foot slide in front of hundreds of people to encourage them to sign up then and there to be on the electoral roll. It's very clear what Labor's motivation was in these marginal seats, which they're struggling to defend. They want to get as many new citizens on the electoral roll as possible because they perceive that will be in their political interest, now we will find out in time whether or not they were right about that. I think they hope that there'll be some afterglow or gratitude from these new Australian citizens in voting for their Labor members, but they'll also have the opportunity to meet their Labor MP in a way that they have not been provided, or indeed, the Labor candidate, have not been provided for a Coalition candidate or an independent MP. And it's very revealing that Anne Stanley, in that marginal seat of Werriwa, that Jerome Laxale in that marginal seat of Bennelong, that Andrew Charlton in that marginal seat of Parramatta - they were all there. They were all on hand, invited by Tony Burke to meet those new citizens, not to mention Tu Le, not even a member of Parliament, just the Labor candidate for Fowler.
CREDLIN: And Dai Le, nowhere to be seen, hey, let's go to the whole the NZYQ mess it hasn't gone away. We learned today about an Iraqi man convicted over aggravated, aggravated kidnapping, I want to underscore that. He's fighting deportation to Nauru. Have you had a briefing here? Do we know what's likely to happen in the court?
PATERSON: We explored this in Senate Estimates last night, and the department said they were confident about their legal position. But they have said that before, and they have been wrong before. And they're hopeful that he will be able to be continued to be detained while this legal matter is resolved. But it's possible that the court will grant an injunction and allow him to be freed into the community. And if he does so, he will join 291 other violent non-citizen offenders in the community who are not being controlled and not being restricted in any meaningful way, because the government has not on one occasion used the emergency powers passed by the parliament in December 2023 to preventatively detain any of these people. In fact, we learnt in Senate estimates they've spent more than $18 million on lawyers looking into this. But not one application is even ready to be filed for preventive detention.
CREDLIN: Well, you've just answered my next question. I was going to say, look, you know, we've passed those powers through the Parliament 18 months ago. Have they ever been used? And they clearly haven't. They haven't even got an application ready to go yet. And you're saying how much? $18 million. It cost us $18 million?
PATERSON: That's right, Peta. And not only that, in May last year, Andrew Giles, the then Immigration Minister, said that six cases were at an advanced stage and were almost ready for applications. And in November last year, the department told me that was at least one case that was almost ready to be pursued, and they expected it would be filed in the coming weeks. But Tony Burke admitted a couple of weeks ago that, effectively, there are no cases that are ready, and he basically waved the white flag and said it's too hard, the bar is too high, we're not going to be able to preventively detain any of those people. I think that's a shocking abrogation of his responsibility to the people of Australia to protect them. And if the bar is too high, well, then why hasn't the government sought to amend the law to lower the bar, to make it easier to lock these people up and protect Australians?
CREDLIN: 100%, James, just in relation to the whole issue with the Bankstown nurses who claimed to have killed, willing to kill as well, Israeli patients, the government has blocked Liberal attempts in the New South Wales Parliament to do an investigation into all of those groups who came out and basically supported them, even after what they said came to light. I know this is state level, but there's federal funding involved in some of these organisations. If you are the minister after the election, are you prepared to audit the funding into some of these Islamic groups, particularly those linked to extremist views?
PATERSON: Yes, Peta, I won't hesitate. And one of the first pieces of advice I'll ask from the department is do I have the power, and is it possible to rescind any of the grants that have already gone to these organisations that have been exposed for promoting extremism, for glorifying terrorism and engaging in antisemitism? I fear, though, by the time that I get there, that all the money will be out. It'll be shoved out the door by Tony Burke and his assistant minister, Julian Hill, who are desperate to fund these organisations because they are politically influential in their electorates, regardless of whatever conduct we've exposed them being involved in, including most recently this week, a director of one of these organisations that received more than $1 million of taxpayers money for social cohesion, who praised Yahya Sinwar, the deceased former Hamas terrorist.
CREDLIN: This is madness. Absolute madness. James Paterson, thank you.
ENDS
