The new assistant minister for multicultural affairs has defended a series of Facebook posts about “African youth gangs”, saying it’s important to “call out” the problem.
Concerns were raised by some members of the South Sudanese community about Jason Wood’s comments in social media posts following his appointment to the new role on Sunday.
But in an exclusive SBS News interview, the former police officer stood by the posts.
“Yes I called out the problem, I said we’ve got an issue here,” Mr Wood told SBS News on Tuesday.
“If anyone thinks we’re overreacting, go and look at YouTube ‘Melbourne Moomba riots’. That behavior running through the CBD streets was out of control.”
During the election campaign Mr Wood wrote on Facebook that the “behavior being displayed by African youth gangs” was “sickening and disgusting”.
The Liberal MP’s electorate of La Trobe, in Melbourne’s south-east, takes in Fountain Gate Shopping Centre where Mr Wood said fights between teenage African girls had broken out recently.
“I hear from local football clubs that they ban their kids from going down there for fear of being mugged or assaulted," he said.
Mr Wood enjoyed support from multicultural groups including the South Sudanese community during the federal election campaign and held on to his seat with an increased margin.
“If I was such a bad person why would all these groups come and support me?”
Jobs for migrants a priority
While the responsibilities of the new role are still being defined, Mr Wood named reducing unemployment among South Sudanese youth and securing funding for multicultural hubs as priorities.
“If we’re not giving them the opportunity of that great hope of getting a job, that’s where we’re failing, that’s what we need to address," he said.
He called on major employers such as supermarkets and fast food chains to give young migrants a chance by invest in training them and giving them a job.
As a local member, Mr Wood said he had worked hard to secure funding for programs to assist multicultural groups and engage disaffected young people.
That includes lobbying for a government grant to bring Brazilian soccer stars to the region to coach refugees.
He said providing services, including English-language classes and encouraging migrants to take them up, was important to improve integration.
“We want to make sure we don’t have little, as they call it in the UK, ‘boroughs’ where you have people on the humanitarian visa, you put them all together, you don’t give them the proper services.”
Mr Wood will be sworn in along with the rest of the ministry on Wednesday.
