The Project co-host Waleed Aly has slammed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's comments about Sudanese gangs in Melbourne on Thursday night's program, saying that to suggest the city is gripped by fear is "just untrue”.
“What’s interesting is I have lived in Melbourne and the only place I have heard concerns about Sudanese gangs is on talk-back radio where the PM made those comments,” Aly said.
He then joked that he was, in fact, “concerned” about African gangs, but only “because I am of African heritage. If there really are a bunch of African gangs, frankly I am offended to not have at least been joined to join one”.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told 3AW that “there is real concern about Sudanese gangs” in Melbourne.
Aly went on to criticise Channel 7's Sunday Night program, which last week aired an extended report on the subject.
“Honestly, I know nothing about the gangs the Prime Minister is talking about. Granted I don’t watch Channel 7,” he said.
Driving his point home, Aly quoted Victoria Police, who told The Project that “people from African backgrounds only represent a small portion of offenders in our community” and that “the groups that have been labelled ‘gangs’ are effectively young people coming together, sometimes for one night, to commit offences. It’s not what we have traditionally called gangs”.
Aly continued: “I’m not saying that African Australians don’t commit crime, and I’m not denying that victims of those crimes have a right to be afraid.
“But it’s just a fraction of the crime being committed, and to suggest a city is gripped by fear of African gangs is just untrue.”
Concluding the eight-minute segment, Aly accused the Prime Minister of attempting to "appear tough" to win votes.
“The truth is, I don’t think the PM know something that we don’t… I think the government is facing the Super Saturday elections next week, and to put it crudely, they want to appear tough on Sudanese migrants despite the fact those migrants are responsible for just one percent of crime, because being tough on that community wins votes in this country.”
