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| The six-person protest in Creek Street, Brisbane Image: Daily Mail |
According
to an interview with 2GB radio shock jock Ray Hadley, Australian
Minister for Home Affairs & Liberal MP for Dickson Peter Dutton is not happy with six
climate change protesters belonging to Extinction Rebellion
blocking Creek Street, Brisbane, for one hour and forty minutes on
Wednesday 2 October 2019.
He also took exception to the fact that the magistrate they appeared before
did not record convictions after all six entered guilty pleas.
Of
course in the end Dutton sheeted home the blame for this incident to
Queensland Labor governments appointing magistrates
who were too tolerant
of civil disobedience – just
as he did in 2016
after Magistrate Trevor Morgan said he would probably be proud if it
were his daughter taking part in protest action.
It seems Dutton hasn’t forgotten those protesters who climbed on his electoral office roof in 2016.
It seems Dutton hasn’t forgotten those protesters who climbed on his electoral office roof in 2016.
The New Daily, 3 October 2019:
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has called for climate change protesters to be “named and shamed”, jailed and have their welfare payments stopped.
Warning protesters in Queensland are “putting lives at risk”, Mr Dutton said the fines are not good enough after the activist group Extinction Rebellion caused traffic chaos in Brisbane.
“The community expectation is that these people are fined or jailed and they should be jailed until their behaviour changes because they are putting lives at risks. They are diverting police and emergency service resources from tasks they should be undertaking otherwise,” Mr Dutton said.
Speaking on radio 2GB, Mr Dutton was then asked by host Ray Hadley if the protesters should have their welfare payments stopped because they are “bludgers sticking themselves to roads”.
“Well, I agree, Ray,” he said…..
Mr Dutton urged people to surveil the protesters and distribute their images.
“People should take these names and the photos of these people and distribute them as far and wide as they can, so that we shame these people,” Mr Dutton said.
“They are acting outside of the law. Let their families know what you think of their behaviour.”
“They keep turning up week after week because a slap on the wrist is just not working.”
Mr Dutton also called for mandatory sentencing of protesters disrupting traffic and shutting down cities…..
“But you know raiding farms, climbing on to the roof of my electoral office and then get told by the magistrate he would be proud of her if it his daughter had done it.
The Saturday Paper, 4 October 2019:
A number of Liberal National Party MPs have supported Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s call to strip welfare payments from climate protesters and jail them. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash told The Australian ($): “Taxpayers should not be expected to subsidise the protests of others.” Other supporters include ($) Scott Buchholz, the assistant minister for road safety. Their backing comes after Dutton agreed with the 2GB radio host Ray Hadley that welfare payments of climate protesters should be cut and added: “they should be jailed until their behaviour changes”. The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, told the ABC that Dutton was starting to “sound more like a dictator than he is an elected politician. Because somebody says something that he doesn’t like, that he doesn’t support, he’s saying we’re going to strip away income support.” Some activists have taken leave from their jobs to protest against government inaction on climate change. The Morrison government is also seeking to require Newstart recipients who fail drug tests to use cashless welfare cards.
