Peter Dutton's policy of deporting people on the grounds of "character" is making major ripples on this side of the Tasman. Photo / Getty Images
Peter Dutton's policy of deporting people on the grounds of "character" is making major ripples on this side of the Tasman. Photo / Getty Images
Opinion
COMMENT:
When Fraser Anning shot his mouth off after the terrorist attack in Christchurch, we all thought we knew who Australia's most woeful politician was. But I'm not so sure.
Turns out it's an incredibly crowded field.
Australian politicians make our lot look good. It seems that our mates across the ditch have an equal opportunity democracy whereby they give utter dimwits a fair crack at running the country.
You'd think that blaming the victims of the terrorist attack in Christchurch would be enough for first prize in the idiot stakes, but keep in mind that Anning, an independent MP, was once a follower of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
But while Hanson is a joke, she's not as funny as Senator Bob Katter, the Queensland cowboy whose views are as dusty as an attic and about as relevant as a dinosaur collar.
Every time he's on the telly, I expect one of his relatives to swoop in, apologise profusely and put him to bed. But no, no, the Aussies seek his leadership.
The only saving grace with this lot is that they don't currently have their mitts on the levers of power. And that's why my pick for Australia's worst politician is Peter Dutton.
And Dutton's influence doesn't just impact Australia it ripples across the ditch as well.
Dutton is a former cop and he has all of the attributes that police forces the world over are wanting rid of, a belief that he knows better than anybody else and thus he can do as he likes.
Dutton became the immigration minister in 2014 and quickly started targeting the so-called 501s, named after the section of the Australian immigration act used to deport people.
Peter Dutton's policy of deporting people on the grounds of "character" is making major ripples on this side of the Tasman. Photo / Getty Images
In principle, flicking out those who commit serious crimes has little resistance issue from me — goodness knows we'll be quick to get rid of the Christchurch terrorist if he is ever released from prison here.
But Dutton went much further than this by deporting people not for crimes they had committed but on "character" grounds.
Leaving aside how one actually judges character (and who gets to decide), many of those targeted by Dutton had lived in Australia for years, sometimes most of their lives.
But for all of the issues swirling around his decisions, it isn't so much what he did, but how he did it.
Dutton liked to use secret evidence, meaning information that he would not disclose to the person in question or to their lawyer.
Think about that for a second. How can you defend yourself if you don't know what you are accused of? How can you know if the information is correct if it can't be tested? How can you even know if a mistake had been made? Or the allegations were false or malicious?
Clearly this goes against the principles of natural justice and chews at the very foundations that support Western democratic justice. For this reason, Australia's highest court ruled against Dutton using secret evidence. Dutton's response? He simply changed the law.
It was a withering attack on the judiciary that further undermined crucial checks and balances on power.
Former Rebels gang member Shane Martin (left) with Jarrod Gilbert working on Shane's book. Photo / Supplied
I got to understand this when writing a book with Shane "Kiwi" Martin. Shane is perhaps the most famous 501. But there are many others. In fact, there have been 1500 New Zealanders deported since 2015.
The response from the two New Zealand governments that have served through these deportations has been relatively muted on the matter.
To his credit, Andrew Little had a bite at Dutton in a documentary last year but other than that New Zealand has almost pretended none of this is happening.
Historically we have been at our best when we've taken a strong stance on international affairs, but currently we are showing little moral leadership in the Pacific when such blatant abuses of state power are on our doorstep.
If the actions of Australia are allowed to continue they will become normalised and in turn set the example for others in the region.
The principles at play are not small. We have gone to war to protect ourselves and others against such tyranny.
We ought to speak out before that tyranny becomes us.
• Dr Jarrod Gilbert is a sociologist at the University of Canterbury and the lead researcher at Independent Research Solutions. He is the co-author of A Rebel in Exile.
