Australia mulls fast tracking visas for white South African farmers

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Australia mulls fast tracking visas for white South African farmers

5:24 CAT | 14 Mar 2018

Mr Dutton said white farmers need help from a 'civilised' country like Australia. Photo: Getty Images

Australia is looking into fast-tracking visas for white South African farmers who want to relocate to the country, its Home Affairs Minister Peter Minister Dutton has said, the UK Guardian reports.

He said white South African farmers “deserve special attention” because of the “horrific circumstances” of land seizures and violence in the country.

Mr Dutton said he had asked his department to look at the options “because from what I have seen they do need help from a civilised country like ours”.

White farmers own 73% of agricultural ground as of December 2016, news site City Press reported last year.

They make up less than 10% of the population, however.

Calls for land expropriation without compensation has been gaining momentum since President Cyril Ramaphosa came to power in the last few months.

The policy is supported by the majority black population, who see it as a way of addressing inequality.

A motion of land expropriation without pay was supported by the majority of MPs, including from the ruling ANC and many other smaller parties.

It was however rejected by the main opposition the Democratic Alliance and some other opposition parties.

Alana Bailey, the Deputy CEO of AfriForum, a South African group that champions the rights of Afrikaner community, welcomed the Australian minister’s comments.

She added the South African government should take heed from the words and stop using the white-minority as “scapegoats for problems in the country and treat them as second class citizens”.

She added:

“It must serve as a warning that South Africa runs the risk to lose even more productive, loyal citizens should their concerns about issues such as property rights not be listened to in earnest and actions not be launched to address problems such as crime in the country.”

Source: BBC