AUS PM: 'There is real concern about Sudanese gangs'

[Bebe 17,289]

Federal and state leaders of the Liberal Party have been criticised for their "unhelpful" singling out of Sudanese communities in Victoria.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared there is a "real concern about Sudanese gangs" in Melbourne, as he described how colleagues have backed claims that residents are scared to go out to dinner due to street crime.

His comments have been described as disheartening by local African community leader, Ahmed Hassan. Mr Hassan today implored the government not to use the South Sudanese community as a political football - and said it expected better from the Prime Minister.

Responding to research by Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission - which linked a spike in racist incidents to the federal government's language around race and crime - the Prime Minister said the connection was "nonsense".

"We have zero tolerance for racism, number one, and number two, this is Australia, the most successful multicultural society in the world, it's one of our greatest assets and achievements," he told Neil Mitchell on radio station 3AW.

It comes months after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton's controversial comments that Melbourne residents were scared to go out to restaurants because African gangs were roaming the streets.

"Do you believe people in Melbourne are scared to go to restaurants because of Sudanese gangs?" Mitchell asked Mr Turnbull on Tuesday morning.

"Well I've heard that from people in Melbourne," Mr Turnbull responded. "I have heard people, colleagues from Melbourne, say that there is a real anxiety about crime in Melbourne. It's a real issue.

"I've heard those reports, there is certainly concern about street crime in Melbourne, there is certainly concern about the state government's failure to uphold the rule of law in the streets of Melbourne."

.....

At a press conference in Tasmania on Tuesday morning, frontbencher Christopher Pyne appeared confused when asked by Fairfax Media whether he felt safe going to restaurants in Melbourne, before responding that law and order in Victoria was a significant issue.

"Are you afraid to go out to restaurants in Melbourne at night?" a reporter asked.

"No, why? Should I be?" said Mr Pyne.

After the Prime Minister's earlier comments were relayed to the federal minister, he responded: "Oh, because of the gangs, the violence. I didn't understand the question."

"No, I'm not, but I don't live in Melbourne so can't comment about the law and order situation there. Obviously in Canberra my Victorian colleagues both senators and members say law and order in Victoria and transport are the number one and two issues in the state

He said none of his Victorian colleagues had told him they were afraid to go to dinner, but "if the Prime Minister has said that they said that to him I'm sure it's true".

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews firmly rejected claims Melburnians were scared to dine out due to safety fears.

"We have the best restaurants in the country and they are full," he said on Tuesday morning.

Read More: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/there-is-real-concern-about-sudanese-gangs-turnbull-20180717-p4zrvq.html


I'd personally also like to leave this study here, by the Australian Institute of Criminology, that concluded:

"despite recent media reports from Victoria, which continue to focus on Sudanese Australians as a crime and justice problem, there is no tangible evidence from this research to suggest that Sudanese people are more criminogenic than any other group"

https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi477

 

[Blake 7,385]

The government here is trash. End of.

[Rat Boy 43,913]

No mean comments about Turnball pls!! His partner has an account hear and is v.sensitive. 

[SMILE2NE1 3,566]

I don't see how that is offensive:

There are Sudanese gangs in Melbourne. No one is making reflections about Sudanese people in general. The fact is, there is a Sudanese gang issue here and it's not going to go away by pretending it doesn't exist.

[Nicole 1,809]

No there isn't. A few high profile incidents does not equate to there being a 'real concern' over other demographic groups. As outlined in OP, crime by Sudanese-Australian's have no shown any significant increase to warrant this moral panic.

71.7% of the offender population in Victoria are Australian-born, where's the outrage at that? 1.3% are from the UK/Ireland - a higher proportion than Sudanese (1%) - why aren't people wanting to 'send them back to where they came from' ??? 

[Bebe 17,289]

1 hour ago, SMILE2NE1 said:

I don't see how that is offensive:

There are Sudanese gangs in Melbourne. No one is making reflections about Sudanese people in general. The fact is, there is a Sudanese gang issue here and it's not going to go away by pretending it doesn't exist.

Think of it as Trump talking about the "rapists" and "criminal" Mexicans coming over the boarder. Or Trump talking about the "bad people" who they are taking out of the country who are "animals". He then goes back like "Oh I was talking about M16!! How is it offensive??". It's racist dog-whistling. 

The truth is, as the government's own report shows, there is no "Sudanese gang" issue. The idea that people in Melbourne are afraid to go out to restaurants is laughable (hence why one of the PM's senior ministers was so confused about why he would be afraid to go out in Melbourne).

It's offensive because it's just a straight out lie... There is no issue with Sudanese gangs, it's racism plain and simple which is also why Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission have linked the language used by the PM and his party to a rise in hate crimes against Sudanese people. 

He can claim it's about the "real problem" of Sudanese gangs all he wants, but the data just doesn't show that it is a real problem.

I was just in Melbourne... I didn't experience the problem, I was going out every night... My friends who live in Melbourne (who I went over to visit) didn't mention anything - they don't see it as a problem... This is just drumming up hysteria over a particular community of immigrants.

[SMILE2NE1 3,566]

56 minutes ago, Fable said:

Think of it as Trump talking about the "rapists" and "criminal" Mexicans coming over the boarder. Or Trump talking about the "bad people" who they are taking out of the country who are "animals". He then goes back like "Oh I was talking about M16!! How is it offensive??". It's racist dog-whistling. 

The truth is, as the government's own report shows, there is no "Sudanese gang" issue. The idea that people in Melbourne are afraid to go out to restaurants is laughable (hence why one of the PM's senior ministers was so confused about why he would be afraid to go out in Melbourne).

It's offensive because it's just a straight out lie... There is no issue with Sudanese gangs, it's racism plain and simple which is also why Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission have linked the language used by the PM and his party to a rise in hate crimes against Sudanese people. 

He can claim it's about the "real problem" of Sudanese gangs all he wants, but the data just doesn't show that it is a real problem.

I was just in Melbourne... I didn't experience the problem, I was going out every night... My friends who live in Melbourne (who I went over to visit) didn't mention anything - they don't see it as a problem... This is just drumming up hysteria over a particular community of immigrants.

True, they do tend to spin **** way out of proportion for a political agenda.