Peter Dutton is a politician constantly under siege from the left and the mainstream media. This is due to not only the fact that he is the Immigration Minister in a government which aims to maintain tough border controls but also because he is an outspoken conservative on many cultural issues. Not too long goes by without a call for his resignation by a leftist activist but to Dutton’s credit, despite all this screeching from the left, he remains defiant and unapologetic for doing the right thing by Australia’s silent majority.

But this week he finds himself under an even greater barrage of abuse over his claim that a disturbance at the Manus Island detention centre two weeks ago occurred when locals attempted to storm the compound which resulted in shots being fired because detainees attempted to lure a local five-year boy into the centre and it was hinted, but not confirmed it was for the purpose of sexually assaulting him.

Because Dutton’s claims go against the leftist narrative that all these poor asylum seekers are peaceful people fleeing persecution who should be let into Australia to increase our cultural enrichment, the media have attempted to discredit his claim. They believe that this time they can successfully claim Dutton’s resignation even if it is by dishonest reporting. Labor has demanded an apology from Dutton with the Greens demanding he resign.

What is even more disheartening is that even conservative commentator Andrew Bolt does not believe Dutton’s claims and believes he should apologize. This is probably because Peter Dutton is the main leadership rival to his friend Tony Abbott so if Bolt can tear down Dutton then it increases Abbott’s chances of returning to the leadership. Because Dutton is the number one target for the mainstream media, he should be defended by those on the right to let the government know that the majority of Australians are on Dutton’s side. We have defended Dutton before and we will now do so again.

The media believes Dutton’s claims do not add up because he was contradicted by the local MP on Manus Island Ronny Knight. However, Fairfax Media has revealed today that Knight has been dismissed from Papua New Guinea’s Parliament over corruption findings, hardly a creditable and honest source. The other person they have trotted out is Manus Island Police Chief David Yapu who claimed the boy was 10 (as if that makes the incident any less awful) and said the incident occurred a week before the disturbance. But Dutton said in an interview on the ABC’s Insiders that he never claimed that two events occurred simultaneously and the incident with the boy contributed to the volatile environment on the Island.

Dutton to his credit has not backed down from his claims appearing on Sky News yesterday stating that he stood by his claims 100% and said “But I’ve provided the facts as they’ve been advised to me by my department and those people with knowledge of what’s happened on the ground, and I’m not changing my position, my version, one bit, because the advice that I’ve got I’ve reconfirmed again today.” He has instead demanded that the media is one who needs to apologize for its false reporting.

It is worth highlighting, what would there to be gained by Dutton just making up these claims? He knows the left are out for his head and that any stuff up would not just be the end of his ministerial career but his future leadership ambitions. Plus it would also not be the first time that the mainstream media has peddled fake news on the asylum seeker issue. The ABC back in 2014 reported false accusations that the Australia Navy deliberately burned asylum seekers attempting to come to Australia by boat. The ABC also put to air a Four Corners story last year claiming that detainees being kept on Narau were experiencing torture. Given the media’s track record I know who I would believe.

Dutton is doing an outstanding job in the Immigration portfolio. He is overseeing the strengthening of citizenship requirements and is clearly an influential voice in dragging Malcolm Turnbull in a more conservative direction in the past month. We need to have his back and make it heard that we will not let the leftie lynch mob win yet again. In times when conservative politicians have a history of letting us down Dutton is rare breed who time and again stands up for conservative values, defies the left and gives a voice to the voiceless.

Author Details
Tim Wilms is the Founder and Editor in Chief of https://theunshackled.net. the Host of Tim’s News Explosion, the WilmsFront interview program and The Theorists with Andy Nolch. He based in Melbourne, Australia where he also conducts field reports.
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Tim Wilms is the Founder and Editor in Chief of https://theunshackled.net. the Host of Tim’s News Explosion, the WilmsFront interview program and The Theorists with Andy Nolch. He based in Melbourne, Australia where he also conducts field reports.