Home affairs minister Peter Dutton has told 2GB radio the public should “name and shame” climate protestors, agreeing that protesters who receive government benefits should have their welfare removed.
The comments came on Thursday morning as Dutton spoke to radio shock jock Ray Hadley.
“People should take these names and the photos of these people and distribute them as far and wide as they can so that we can shame these people,” he said. “Shame them because of the actions they have committed and because they are acting outside of the law.”
“Let their families know what you think of their behaviour.”
[jwplayer 5KIEt4ZX]
Dutton called the protesters, many of whom identify as part of climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, “counter productive.”
“A slap on the wrist is just not working,” said Dutton, calling on Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to come in harder on punishing the protesters.
It wasn’t the only statement Dutton made in the interview: the Queenslander was also criticised for calling for mandatory sentences for people who break the law while protesting.
“A community expectation is that these people are heavily fined or jailed,” he claimed.
On Friday morning a story was also dropped to The Austalian newspaper regarding employment minister Michaelia Cash. Get this: she also supports suspending welfare payments of activists.
“Taxpayers should not be expected to subsidise the protests of others. Protesting is not, and never will be, an exemption from a welfare recipient’s mutual obligation to look for a job,” she said.
It’s almost like there was some sort of method in these dual media spots.
Dutton’s weekly appearances on Hadley’s show have given him a clear and obvious path towards badmouthing and tearing down Queensland’s Labor government. Not one to miss an opportunity, Dutton and Hadley zeroed in on Palaszczuk, calling her “hopeless” and “controlled by [deputy premier] Jackie Trad.”
That’s how the media works, folks: make sure you have friends in high places.
