Considering Peter Dutton’s last public attempt at humour wasn’t received so well, joking about “Cape York time” and “water lapping at your door”, he was a brave man to give it another go, this time speaking in televised Question Time.
If anything, it was worse. In fact, the best description would be just terribly sad.
He was so excited he even smiled when Julia Banks delivered her Dorothy Dixer to segue into what he clearly thought was a very clever little skit he had put together – and I can pretty much guarantee he made it up all by himself.
The questioner asked the Minister to outline the steps that the government has taken to remove dangerous criminal gang members from our society and what are the consequences of not taking action.
Dutton spends a few seconds saying we have gotten rid of lots of bikies and we all know bikies are the strong arm of the CFMEU before leading into his joke which was about Rudd, Gillard and Shorten all on a building site.
As he rambled on, the only one on his front bench who tried to smile (even though appearing not quite sure where it was going), was Barnaby Joyce, with Josh Frydenberg, in his usual way, looking around at others to get his lead before he offered too much support.
Eventually Anthony Albanese called a point of order on “weirdness”.
I would actually like to ask Dutton the same question asked by the member for Chisholm but about the criminal networks that have been uncovered in immigration, customs and border security who have allegedly done far worse things than attend stop work meetings.
An independent review identified “systemic shortfalls in both the Customs and Immigration organisations, punctuated by several high-profile failings”, saying that “neither organisation had adequately developed the capabilities or professionalisation in the workforce expected of a modern border management organisation. Both organisations had been cited for the lack of accountability amongst senior leaders.”
“A lack of management and leadership at the border, an inability to properly allocate resources to the highest priorities, and gaps in processes and direction contributed to a climate in which corruption and integrity shortfalls were allowed to develop,” the report said. “Failure to consistently vet individuals – both initially and during the course of their service – created a culture with a lack of accountability across the workforce, from senior leaders to individual Customs and Immigration officers. Many officers did not have security clearances.”
An important realisation, according to the report, was the “strong link between integrity and organisational capability.” The investigation also highlighted possible corruption issues involving Customs officers.
An in-depth investigation of corruption at Sydney Airport found there was an increasing threat of corrupt compromise and infiltration by organised-crime groups.
Customs prosecuted some of its officers in 2012-13 on charges of abuse of office, bribery and conspiracy over an import racket through Sydney Airport involving steroids and other drugs, which operated in 2007. A report found they had used their inside knowledge to thwart airport surveillance systems.
Eight Customs officers faced criminal charges arising from Operation Heritage, including three officers who faced charges relating to intentional inaccuracy in their evidence to the Integrity Commissioner. Another breach in workforce integrity and corruption was reported in Operation Myrrh, an investigation into illicit drug use by certain Customs officers.
There remain more than 100 referred Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) corruption case investigations.
In June 2015, just prior to the integration of the DIBP, the secretary released a document with integrity measures. It states:
“Our work and the information we hold is valuable to organised crime syndicates, who actively try to circumvent border controls, reduce border integrity and threaten national security, and our border management activities are a significant target for criminal groups who have strong financial and other motives to infiltrate border protection agencies across the globe. Our integrity must be of the highest order and our behaviour consistent with the laws we enforce.
To perform effectively in this environment, it is critical that the Department secures and maintains the confidence of government, industry, the law enforcement community (both domestic and international) and the wider community. Central to this goal are the professionalism and integrity of staff, contractors, consultants and secondees and the ability of the Department, at an organisational level, to prevent and counter internal corruption and misconduct.”
In September, the Productivity Commission’s study of Australia’s migrant intake identified two classes of high-end business visa – the significant investor visa and the premium investor visa – which it says are effectively offering an easy shortcut to Australian residency for rich foreigners and exposing Australia to the real risk of foreign money laundering.
The commission warns that the relatively lax criteria in the investor classes mean Australia is effectively handing out residency, with inadequate compliance rules, to those who can pay.
During the Productivity Commission’s investigation into the Australian investor visas, watchdog Transparency International warned that “no level of screening and vetting can provide complete assurance as to the integrity of the source of funds accessed by the applicants for those visas.”
The RAND review also warned that the Australian Federal Police “did not have the resources to conduct criminal investigations into all public service agencies” and so were outsourcing their investigations to the agencies themselves.
And it warned that immigration “emphasised visa cancellations over criminal investigations and focused too much on ancillary activities over core investigation business (such as the successful prosecution of high-value targets)”.
But hey, they stopped the boats. Now back to those CFMEU thugs.
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