Tony Abbott backs Peter Dutton's call for visas for white South African farmers
Source: BBC News
Former PM sides with home affairs minister after Julie Bishop and Mathias Cormann stress Australia’s humanitarian visa program is nondiscriminatory
Paul Karp
@Paul_Karp
Sun 18 Mar 2018 21.27 EDT Last modified on Sun 18 Mar 2018 21.29 EDT
The former prime minister Tony Abbott has sided with Peter Dutton’s call for white South African farmers to be protected in Australia, warning of a “national crisis” and alleging farmers are being “brutally murdered”.
After fierce criticism from South Africa over the home affairs minister’s call for “special treatment”, several Turnbull government ministers including Julie Bishop and Mathias Cormann have publicly stressed the nondiscriminatory nature of the humanitarian visa program.
Dutton kicked off the debate last week when he suggested the South African farmers deserve “special attention” for immigration to Australia, which he described as a “civilised country”.
This prompted outrage from the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, who accused Dutton of racism. The South African government demanded a full retraction for his comments that white farmers faced “horrific circumstances”.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/19/tony-abbott-backs-peter-duttons-call-for-visas-for-white-south-african-farmers
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