MPs lash ‘take out trash’ remark
Aust minister Dutton blasted for exposing Kiwi deportees to questioning on tarmac
New Zealand politicians have hit back fiercely at Australia’s “deplorable” deportation policy and a senior Australian politician who referred to deporting Kiwis as “taking out the trash”.
An Australian news segment featured extraordinary access given by Australia’s Border Force to question Kiwis being led across the tarmac in handcuffs before being deported.
The 9 News report, which saw the journalist questioning deportees directly, also included comment from Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who told the channel the flights were Australia’s way of “taking the trash out”.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta yesterday said Dutton’s comments “only serve to trash his own reputation”. “I think they should reflect on how they are portraying the transfer of people back to New Zealand. Dutton’s comments reflect his own personality.”
Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins also slammed the comments and the Australian deportation policy in general — which is not reciprocated by New Zealand.
“This is Australia exporting its garbage to New Zealand.
“These people, their criminal offending has been in Australia.
“For all intensive purposes many have lived the vast bulk of their lives in Australia.
“This is a deplorable move by the Australian Government and we completely disagree with it, however they are entitled to do it.”
Asked if he thought the Kiwis were “garbage” himself, Hipkins said that was not his intention and he should have “chosen better words”.
“I didn’t mean to suggest that, that is Dutton’s way of describing it.”
The comments from her ministers were starkly different to the subdued tone taken by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who refused to be drawn into a “tit for tat” when questioned on the topic.
“Everyone is aware of our view on this and it is strongly held. The Australian government is within their rights, it just so happens we strongly disagree,” she told reporters. “I won’t get into a tit for tat.”
Earlier National leader Judith Collins called for retaliation, for New Zealand to start sending Australian criminals back there.
“We cannot be the dumping ground for everything wrong that’s happened in Australia with people and criminal behaviour,” she told 1News. “They need to have some of them come back to them.”
She also said the relationship between New Zealand and Australia at the Government level was probably the “worst” in many years.
However, Ardern disputed this, saying despite consistently voicing their opposition to the Australian deportation policy it had “not changed the fact we have a very strong relationship”.
“There has been no breakdown in our relationship at all. We have an excellent relationship with our counterparts. Myself and Scott Morrison speak frequently and work together often — it just so happens on this issue we strongly disagree.”
The issue of the 501 deportees has been a hot topic in New Zealand, with the influx of criminals making waves in the underworld and leading to a series of high-profile crimes.
The policy, previously described by Ardern as having a “corrosive” effect on transtasman relations, has been criticised for its indiscriminate nature which has seen New Zealanders who have spent a lifetime in Australia deported after committing minor offences.
The Australian Border Deaths Database, collated by Monash University, has recorded four deaths of New Zealanders associated with visa cancellations, among them a man who had been in Australia since he was a toddler.
He committed suicide 18 months after being deported to New Zealand following a prison term for a string of minor offences. He left a young child and his immediate family in Australia.
More than 700 people had been deported in roughly the past year, Dutton said. “We’re talking about the most serious offenders here and our country is safer for having deported them.”
Given the opportunity to question a female deportee, whose face was blurred, 9 News journalist Jordan Fabris asks: “How does it feel to be kicked out of Australia?”
Told to “**** off” by the woman, Fabris counters with: “Our country doesn’t want you. Are you excited to go home?”
9 News has been approached for comment.
When Bob Scott moved into a retirement home, the Post-it note on the fridge said it all: “My daughter’s name is Christine.”
Christine Cole was Bob’s sole carer when he moved into the home in 2013 and was manifesting signs of dementia.
“I cleared out his house and I could see how much he was struggling. He had notes everywhere about what to do. He was probably 70 when dementia started, he wasn’t coping and he couldn’t remember things,” Chris says.
For most of his life, Bob Scott lived alone and became a “lost, scared soul”.
His son, Mike, says: “He was paranoid about his neighbours and thought people were trying to take his money or trying to get him out of his flat – that’s classic dementia.”
Mike’s childhood was fraught. He lived in fear of his father, who was violent and an alcoholic.
“I’d often go to bed and you’d be listening to this argument, listening for what the problem was to see if I could solve it.
“He was never violent to me, my brother or sister, but there was some aggression that was physical towards my mum.
“One night my dad drank whiskey, he got weird and violent and chased mum out of the house with a knife.”
When his parents separated, the 15-year-old teenager says it was the happiest day of his life.
As Bob’s health deteriorated, he leaned more on Chris for support. She was the oldest and had moved back to Invercargill with her family.
“Was I resentful having to shoulder that responsibility? Yes, I was,” Chris says.
“This came from my childhood, where I had to look after my brothers and help them as best as I could and then I was looking after my father.”
Mike feels guilty the burden of looking after his father was left to his sister.
“Dad died with dementia. The fact my relationship was non-existent meant I was unable to care for him.
“It’s something I regret now, that I could’ve been a better person when he got sick.”