Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denied that Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had recently linked Lebanese migration to terrorism.
In an interview with Australia’s SBS television, Turnbull said Dutton was “misrepresented, recklessly so” over his comments that appeared to link Lebanese migration in the 1970s with concerns around planned terrorist activity today.
In remarks on November 21, Dutton said: “The advice I have is that out of the last 33 people who have been charged with terrorist-related offenses in this country, 22 of those people are from second and third generation Lebanese-Muslim background.”
Turnbull spoke to SBS about multiculturalism to clarify his stance.
“The real issue is what are we doing today, and what are we doing today is ensuring that we maintain the most successful multicultural society in the world,” he said.
“And we do that by having a generous immigration program, but one that is very well managed and the humanitarian component of it, the refugee program, again is very well managed,” he added.
