Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has spoken out against Kanye West, in the wake of rumours and reports that the disgraced rapper was intending to travel to Australia.
Dutton made the comments yesterday (January 24), during an interview on talkback radio station 3AW – per ABC News. There, he said that were he in charge of the issue, his “inclination would be not to allow [West] in”.
“His anti-Semitic comments are disgraceful, his conduct and his behaviour is appalling, and he’s not a person of good character,” said Dutton. He went on to note that Andrew Giles – the current Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs – “has the ability to stop somebody coming into our country of bad character”.
“The minister’s got a lot to weigh up, but I must say… my instinct would be, if I was that decision-maker? I think there are better people we could welcome in,” Dutton concluded.
Dutton is the second Australian politician in as many days to speak out against West, who was reportedly planning a visit to Australia to meet the family of his new Australian partner Bianca Censori. Ben Carroll, the Industry Minister of Victoria, said yesterday that West’s “extremist” views do not “represent Melbourne or Victoria”.
“We know he has a long standing history of bigotry and provocation, and I know the Commonwealth will process accordingly,” he said.
Carroll and Dutton’s comments follow calls from Jewish-Australian community organisation the Anti-Defamation Commission to deny West entry into the country. On Monday, chairman Dvir Abramovich said that “Australia should not put out the welcome mat and provide a platform to a hatemonger who spews threats against the Jewish community”.
“Kanye is a blatant, unvarnished antisemite, Nazi-lover and Hitler worshipper who openly admires an evil tyrant responsible for the extermination of six million Jews, including 1.5 million children,” he continued. “This kind of rhetoric is dangerous and has real-world consequences given the more than 30 million followers that this person has, and who may start believing that his demonisation of the Jewish community and that they must act.”