Terrorism; Muslim community; the Liberal Party
Prime Minister
NATALIE BARR: Prime Minister Scott Morrison joins me now from Sydney, morning to you.
PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Natalie.
BARR: How would we get rid of them? Why would another country take a convicted terrorist?
PRIME MINISTER: Well what the new law will do is if we have a reasonable view that someone has citizenship - it may be by descent or they may have been born somewhere else - then we will be able to strip them of their Australian citizenship and we’ll be able to have them deported back to the country from which they do have a citizenship. If they’re in a position not to be deported, well they’ll remain in immigration detention. The point is, we’re not going to cop people who act contrary to what their citizenship has granted them and that is the freedom and the liberties that goes with that responsibility. So, we’re not going to cop it Nat, that’s simple as that. Their citizenship should go if you commit a terrorist act in Australia.
BARR: So you said, if they’re unable to be deported they’ll remain in detention. So, some of them won’t be able to be deported? It’s going to be hard to get all of them out.
PRIME MINISTER: The point is - we just saw this recently, remember all the stuff around citizenship in the Parliament and it became clear that people had citizenship by descent by any number of countries. So their citizenship will be determined and they’ll be deported back to those host countries. I mean that’s how it will work. But the point has to be very clear; if you commit a terrorist act against Australia, we will strip your citizenship. This is the important issue that I think we need to make very clear to people. They are committing crimes, not only against their fellow Australians, but against the nation that has actually given them the liberty under which they live.
BARR: Yeah but that’s my point, if another- just how will it work? Because another country won’t necessarily take them back, will they?
PRIME MINISTER: Well if they’re a citizen of that country they have to take them back Nat. If they were born in the UK for example and they’re a citizen by descent, they’re a citizen. That’s what we know to be the case and off they’ll go.
BARR: We know the counter terrorism police have stopped many terror attack plans - you angered many in the Muslim community by saying that Islamic leaders need to be doing more on this. Do you regret that or do you stand by that?
PRIME MINISTER: I don’t regret it at all. In fact I took quite a bit of advice before saying it, from our security agencies. I was simply calling out what we have to call out in this country; that is extremist, radical, violent Islam is the biggest threat of religious extremism in this country and I need us all to focus on that issue and do whatever we can to make sure that that violent, hatred-filled ideology does not take root in religious communities in Australia. We all have jobs to do. I’ve got a job to do, everyone in the community has a job to do and so do the clerics and the religious leaders who have responsibility for protecting the integrity of their religious communities and what’s taught in those religious communities.
BARR: Okay. The feud between two former prime ministers, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, seems to be intensifying. Abbott now says Turnbull’s downfall was political suicide, Turnbull has apparently followed an Instagram page dedicated to getting Abbott out of office. You cannot ignore the fact that this surely is hurting your party's chances in Victoria over the weekend?
PRIME MINISTER: I entirely intend to ignore it Nat and I’ll leave that to the Twitterverse to be outraged about. What I’m focused on is making Australia safe. What I’m focused on is keeping our economy strong, making sure that we don't have a 45 per cent, reckless target that Labor wants to put on everybody’s electricity price, which will push their electricity prices up and crush the Australian economy. It's a dangerous plan and it's that on I’m focused, ensuring that Australians will never have to live under.
BARR: So, people don't care about Liberal leadership woes? That’s not on any Australian’s radar, Mr Morrison?
PRIME MINISTER: It’s old history and it’s in the Twittersphere and I’ll let the Twittersphere go into outrage about it. I’m focused on my job of keeping Australians safe and keeping the economy strong.
BARR: Okay Mr Morrison, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot, Nat.