Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was considering fast track visas for SA white farmers

South Africa has dismissed allegations its white farmers are "persecuted" after an Australian minister said they needed help from a "civilised" country.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was exploring giving South Africa's white farmers access to fast-track visas on humanitarian grounds.

The suggestion was made amid calls to transfer land ownership from white to black farmers in South Africa, and fears over the number of farm killings.

But South Africa says it is ridiculous.

Government spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya told the BBC there was no reason for any country in the world to suspect a section of the South African population was in danger from its democratically elected leaders.

"There's no need for anyone to be scared or to fear anything," he said. "The land redistribution programme will be done according to the law. We want to say to our friends across the world that there's no need to panic."

He concluded: "We remain a united nation here in South Africa - both black and white."

Mr Dutton had earlier told reporters in Australia South Africa's white farmers needed help "from a civilised country like ours".

"If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face," he said.

Mr Dutton added: "We want people who want to come here, abide by our laws, integrate into our society, work hard, not lead a life on welfare. And I think these people deserve special attention and we're certainly applying that special attention now."

In response, South Africa's foreign ministry said it regretted "the Australian government chose not to use the available diplomatic channels available for them to raise concerns or to seek clarification".

Image copyright Zel Athena Archer Image caption A protest against "plaasmoorde" - or farm murders - in South Africa

Mr Dutton's comments come nearly six months after Australia agreed to pay $70m (£39.5m) in compensation and damages to around 2,000 asylum seekers, who had alleged physical and psychological abuse at its detention centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

Australia did not admit liability in the case but rights groups have repeatedly criticised the country for its human rights violations on offshore detention centres.

Analysis: 'We will not allow land grabs'

by Milton Nkosi, BBC News, Johannesburg

The Australian home affairs minister's comments will send shockwaves of anger out amongst many South Africans.

The idea that white South Africans are under siege from their black counterparts in a democratic state is preposterous - that's the reaction from many here.

This offer by the Australian politician has already been severely criticised by South Africa's international affairs department.

A case of a white family seeking asylum, on the basis that they were persecuted for being white in a majority black country, was rejected in 2017 by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).

What's more, President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament on Wednesday afternoon there would be no land grabs.

In his first question-and-answer session since taking over from Jacob Zuma, he said: "We will not allow land grabs. We will not allow land invasion - because it is illegal. It begins to violate rights of other South African citizens."

The issue of land ownership in South Africa has been an increasingly fraught topic: almost 75% of its farmland is still in white hands more than two decades after South Africa's ruling ANC first took power from the white minority government.

White South Africans make up less than 10% of the overall population.

The land expropriation without compensation motion, which was brought forward by the radical left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, seeks to change the constitution to allow for it.

The motion was backed by a majority of MPs in February but it is not clear when or if a vote will take place on the issue. A two-thirds majority is needed to change the country's constitution.

Calls to transfer land from white to black owners have intensified since South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took office.

Australian media have been reporting the result was an increase in violence against white farmers. Activists in South Africa have long said white farmers are disproportionately killed.

However, the BBC found in November that it was difficult to prove with statistics that white farmers were more likely to be murdered than black farmers.</s>South Africa has dismissed allegations its white farmers are “persecuted” after an Australian minister said they needed help from a “civilised” country.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was exploring giving South Africa’s white farmers access to fast-track visas on humanitarian grounds.

The suggestion was made amid calls to transfer land ownership from white to black farmers in South Africa, and fears over the number of farm killings.

But South Africa says it is ridiculous.

Government spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya told the BBC there was no reason for any country in the world to suspect a section of the South African population was in danger from its democratically elected leaders.

“There’s no need for anyone to be scared or to fear anything,” he said. “The land redistribution programme will be done according to the law. We want to say to our friends across the world that there’s no need to panic.”

He concluded: “We remain a united nation here in South Africa – both black and white.”

Mr Dutton had earlier told reporters in Australia South Africa’s white farmers needed help “from a civilised country like ours”.

“If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it’s a horrific circumstance they face,” he said.

Mr Dutton added: “We want people who want to come here, abide by our laws, integrate into our society, work hard, not lead a life on welfare. And I think these people deserve special attention and we’re certainly applying that special attention now.”

In response, South Africa’s foreign ministry said it regretted “the Australian government chose not to use the available diplomatic channels available for them to raise concerns or to seek clarification”.

Mr Dutton’s comments come nearly six months after Australia agreed to pay $70m (£39.5m) in compensation and damages to around 2,000 asylum seekers, who had alleged physical and psychological abuse at its detention centre on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.

Australia did not admit liability in the case but rights groups have repeatedly criticised the country for its human rights violations on offshore detention centres.

The issue of land ownership in South Africa has been an increasingly fraught topic: almost 75% of its farmland is still in white hands more than two decades after South Africa’s ruling ANC first took power from the white minority government.

White South Africans make up less than 10% of the overall population.

The land expropriation without compensation motion, which was brought forward by the radical left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, seeks to change the constitution to allow for it.

The motion was backed by a majority of MPs in February but it is not clear when or if a vote will take place on the issue. A two-thirds majority is needed to change the country’s constitution.

Calls to transfer land from white to black owners have intensified since South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took office.

Australian media have been reporting the result was an increase in violence against white farmers. Activists in South Africa have long said white farmers are disproportionately killed.

However, the BBC found in November that there was no statistical proof that white farmers were more likely to be murdered than black farmers.</s>White farmers facing violence in South Africa "deserve special attention" from Australia, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says, but the South African Government says its citizens are not in danger.

Peter Dutton says people need help from a "civilised country like ours". (Credit: ABC)

White farmers facing violence in South Africa "deserve special attention" from Australia, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has said.

Mr Dutton has ordered his department to investigate how to bring the farmers, who he says are facing "horrific circumstances" of land seizures and violence, to Australia.

He said he had "hope" some of the farmers could be settled in Australia, declaring: "We have the potential to help some of these people that are being persecuted."

He added that he wanted to explore whether the farmers could access visas or humanitarian programs.

"People do need help and they need help from a civilised country like ours," Mr Dutton told News Corp.

"There are existing visa categories where we can accommodate people and we're just looking at the moment as to what might be feasible and hopefully we'll make an announcement in due course."

But the South African Government has dismissed fears expressed by Mr Dutton for the safety of the farmers, saying its citizens are not in danger.

Farmers' group Afriforum SA has expressed gratitude to Mr Dutton for acknowledging the attacks on white farmers.

But deputy chief executive Ernst Roets said most South Africans would prefer to stay on home soil.

"We would like to solve the problem in South Africa. So we don't necessarily think the solution is for everyone to leave the country," he said.

Mr Roets said the Australian Government should engage with South African officials.

Mr Dutton said the farmers could make a contribution to Australian life.

"The people we're talking about want to work hard, they want to contribute to a country like Australia," he said.</s>South Africa has criticised Australian home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s offer to fast-track visas for its white African farmers, saying his comments on the supposed threat to their lives and land were “sad” and “regrettable”.

A spokesperson for international relations minister Lindiwe Sisulu, said: “There is no need to fear … we want to say to the world that we are engaged in a process of land redistribution which is very important to address the imbalances of the past. But it is going to be done legally, and with due consideration of the economic impact and impact on individuals.”

On Wednesday, Dutton said white farmers deserved “special attention” due to the “horrific circumstances” of land seizures and violence. It follows recent reports in Australian media of “numerous and increasing cases of rape and torture carried out on white farmers” and “a white minority in South Africa being murdered and tortured off their farms ”.

However, Gareth Newham at the Institute for Security Studies, one of South Africa’s leading authorities on crime statistics, said there was no evidence to support the notion that white farmers were targeted more than anyone else in the country.

“In fact, young black males living in poor urban areas like Khayelitsha and Lange face a far greater risk of being murdered. The murder rate there is between 200 and 300 murders per 100,000 people,” he said. Even the highest estimates of farm murders stand at 133 per 100,000 people, and that includes both black and white murder victims.

Estimates of the rate of white farm murders are fiercely contested. “It’s a difficult question to answer because we don’t really know exactly how many white South Africa farmers there are,” said Newham.

“All these methodologies are hugely flawed because if you start ring-fencing certain people because of their race you are missing out on the bigger context of how violence and murder takes place in South Africa. I wouldn’t say that white farmers are more likely to be murdered than other groups, we don’t have enough evidence of that,” he added.

Newham said crime rates in general were going up, and the trend was not specific to white farmers.

Fact-checking organisation Africa Check, in a detailed report on the subject of farm murders in general – not just of white farmers – suggested that another credible estimate of the farm murder rate could be as low as 0.4 murders per 100,000 people. But it too concluded that an accurate figure is “near impossible” to determine.

Last month, South Africa’s parliament passed a motion to begin the process of amending South Africa’s constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. If followed through, this motion is likely to disproportionately affect white farmers, given that this group enjoys a disproportionately large share of land ownership. But no farms have yet been seized, nor is there any immediate plan by the government to do so.

According to the November 2017 Land Audit Report, 72 per cent of agricultural land is owned by white farmers. White people make up 8 per cent of South Africa’s population.

The inequality in land ownership is a legacy of apartheid in South Africa, and all major political parties agree on the need for extensive land reform. The current land reform policy is based on the principle of “willing buyer, willing seller”, and has largely failed to result in meaningful transformation.

Koketso Moeti, executive director of Amandla.mobi, a local community advocacy organisation, said: “Statistics show black South Africans are the most affected by crime, landlessness and violence, as a result of historic and current forms of dispossession and injustices. We hear stories of horrific circumstances from our members every day. Where is the support for them?”</s>Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has asked his department to look into a special refugee intake of white South African farmers subject to violence, murder and persecution in their homeland.

White farmers in the high-crime country also face new moves to forcibly redistribute land without compensation under the auspices of addressing apartheid-era inequities in land ownership.

Mr Dutton flagged a special intake of white South African farmers - potentially similar to the 12,000 additional Syrian and Iraqi refugees Australia accepted between 2015 and 2017 to address displacement caused by the Syrian civil war and fight against Islamic State.

"I've asked the department to look at ways that we can provide some assistance. We could provide more visas for people potentially in the humanitarian program," Mr Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday.

"If people are being persecuted, regardless of whether it's because of religion or the colour of their skin or whatever, we need to provide assistance where we can."</s>Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has doubled down on his desire to bring white South African farmers to Australia after drawing an angry reaction from Pretoria.

Mr Dutton believes the farmers deserve 'special attention' from a 'civilised country' like Australia because they face violence and land seizures.

'I think in this circumstance we do need to look at the persecution that's taking place,' Mr Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday.

He has directed his Home Affairs department to explore whether the farmers can be accepted into Australia through refugee, humanitarian or other visas, including the in-country persecution visa category.

However, the South African foreign ministry says the 'threat' Mr Dutton refers to does not exist.

'There is no reason for any government in the world to suspect that a section of South Africans is under danger from their own democratically elected government,' it said in Pretoria, Reuters reported.

'We regret that the Australian government chose not to use the available diplomatic channels available for them to raise concerns or to seek clarification.'

AfriForum, a rights group representing primarily the white Afrikaner minority, praised Mr Dutton's comments but said it was not in favour of mass emigration.

'Our future is in Africa, not elsewhere,' chief executive Kallie Kriel said.

Mr Dutton believes white farmers in South Africa face 'horrific circumstances' and need help from Australia.

'We have a huge South African expat community within Australia. They work hard, they integrate well into Australian society. They contribute and make us a better country,' he said.

'They're the sorts of migrants that we want to bring into our country.'

'If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face,' Mr Dutton told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

'We have the potential to help some of these people that are being persecuted.'

The South African parliament recently passed a motion which may lead to white farmers having their land seized and given to black owners without compensation.

'We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land,' Economic Freedom Fighters party leader Julius Malema said, The Independent reported.

Confiscating the land could potentially lead to food shortages and an economic crisis similar to Zimbabwe.

With an uncertain farming future and heavy drought, white South African farmers are already being pushed out of the industry.

Mr Dutton has directed the Home Affairs department to explore whether the farmers can be accepted into Australia through refugee, humanitarian or other visas, including the in-country persecution visa category.

'I do think on the information that I've seen, people do need help, and they need help from a civilised country like ours,' Mr Dutton said.

The minister said it was clear the farmers in question wanted to work hard and contribute to countries like Australia.

'We want people who want to come here, abide by our laws, integrate into our society, work hard, not lead a life on welfare,' he said.

'And I think these people deserve special attention and we're certainly applying that special attention now.'

Mr Dutton suggested an announcement could be made soon.

'We're just looking at the moment at what might be feasible and hopefully we'll make an announcement in due course,' he said.

However, people have slammed Mr Dutton for his decision to want to help white South Africans but not the refugees on Manus Island.

'So Peter Dutton considers white South Africans to have suffered 'horrific circumstances', but the refugees, including Rohingya refugees, who languished for years in the Manus Island detention centre did not. Disgraceful,' one person wrote online.

'You didn't really care about those on boats who came here citing similar persecution only sporting different skin colour. Now all of a sudden you're a humanitarian? Just stop,' another said.

'It's very interesting that Peter Dutton talks about the white South African deserve special attention no one care about your statements while you have such a barbaric policy on Manus and Nauru. Australia considers fast-track visas for white South African farmers,' someone else shared.</s>Australia is investigating what visas can be offered to white South African farmers who are facing violence and land seizures at home.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton believes the farmers deserve 'special attention' and need help from a 'civilised country' like Australia.

'If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face,' Mr Dutton told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

'We have the potential to help some of these people that are being persecuted.'

The South African parliament recently passed a motion which may lead to white farmers having their land seized and given to black owners without compensation.

'We must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the criminals who stole our land,' Economic Freedom Fighters party leader Julius Malema said, The Independent reported.

Confiscating the land could potentially lead to food shortages and an economic crisis similar to Zimbabwe.

With an uncertain farming future and heavy drought, white South African farmers are already being pushed out of the industry.

Mr Dutton has directed the Home Affairs department to explore whether the farmers can be accepted into Australia through refugee, humanitarian or other visas, including the in-country persecution visa category.

'I do think on the information that I've seen, people do need help, and they need help from a civilised country like ours,' Mr Dutton said.

The minister said it was clear the farmers in question wanted to work hard and contribute to countries like Australia.

'We want people who want to come here, abide by our laws, integrate into our society, work hard, not lead a life on welfare,' he said.

'And I think these people deserve special attention and we're certainly applying that special attention now.'

Mr Dutton suggested an announcement could be made soon.

'We're just looking at the moment at what might be feasible and hopefully we'll make an announcement in due course,' he said.

However, people have slammed Mr Dutton for his decision to want to help white South Africans but not the refugees on Manus Island.

'So Peter Dutton considers white South Africans to have suffered 'horrific circumstances', but the refugees, including Rohingya refugees, who languished for years in the Manus Island detention centre did not. Disgraceful,' one person wrote online.

'You didn't really care about those on boats who came here citing similar persecution only sporting different skin colour. Now all of a sudden you're a humanitarian? Just stop,' another said.

'It's very interesting that Peter Dutton talks about the white South African deserve special attention no one care about your statements while you have such a barbaric policy on Manus and Nauru. Australia considers fast-track visas for white South African farmers,' someone else shared.</s>South Africa has dismissed claims its white farmers are "persecuted" after an Australian minister said they needed help from a "civilised" country.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was exploring giving South Africa's white farmers access to fast-track visas on humanitarian grounds.

The suggestion was made amid calls to transfer land ownership from black to white farmers in South Africa, and fears over the number of farm killings.

But South Africa says it is ridiculous.

"That threat does not exist," South Africa's foreign ministry said. "There is no reason for any government in the world to suspect that a section of South Africans is under danger from their own democratically elected government."
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Mr Dutton had earlier told reporters in Australia that South Africa's white farmers were "persecuted" and "need help from a civilised country like ours".

"If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face," he said.

Mr Dutton added: "We want people who want to come here, abide by our laws, integrate into our society, work hard, not lead a life on welfare. And I think these people deserve special attention and we're certainly applying that special attention now."

In response, South Africa's foreign ministry said it regretted "the Australian government chose not to use the available diplomatic channels available for them to raise concerns or to seek clarification".

The issue of land ownership in South Africa has been an increasingly fraught topic: almost 75% of its farmland is still in white hands more than two decades after South Africa's ruling ANC first took power from the white minority government.

White South Africans makes up less than 10% of the overall population.

Calls to transfer land from white to black owners has intensified since South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took office.

Australian media has been reporting the result was an increase in violence against white farmers. Activists in South Africa have long said white farmers are disproportionately killed.

However, the BBC found in November that there is no statistical proof that white farmers were more likely to be murdered than black farmers.

A Twitter user criticized Mr Dutton of "white privilege", pointing to Australia's offshore detention centres "for brown & black asylum seekers".

The land expropriation without compensation motion, which was brought forward by the radical left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, is supported by the majority of MPs.</s>South Africa demands Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton retract his comments that the country's white farmers are being "persecuted" and deserve protection with special visas from a "civilised country".

South Africa has demanded Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton retract his comments that the country's white farmers are being "persecuted" and deserve protection with special visas from a "civilised country".

Pretoria hauled in Canberra's High Commissioner for a diplomatic ticking off over Mr Dutton's remarks, which also included a description of white farmers facing "horrific circumstances" — a characterisation South Africa has rejected.

"The South African Government is offended by the statements which have been attributed to the Australian Home Affairs Minister and a full retraction is expected," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Commenting this week on a documentary about violent rural crime in South Africa, Mr Dutton said the farmers deserved "special attention" from Australia.

"I do think, on the information that I've seen, people do need help and they need help from a civilised country like ours," Mr Dutton said.

He also pointed to plans by new President Cyril Ramaphosa to allow expropriation of land as a solution to the massive land-ownership inequalities that remain more than two decades after the end of apartheid.

Speaking to Parliament this week, Mr Ramaphosa said South Africa was not heading down the road towards the type of violent and chaotic seizure of white-owned farms that triggered economic collapse in Zimbabwe nearly 20 years ago.

"We cannot have a situation where we allow land grabs, because that is anarchy," Mr Ramaphosa said.

"We cannot have a situation of anarchy when we have proper constitutional means through which we can work to give land to our people."

Although violent crime is a serious issue across South Africa, killings on farms — the vast majority of which are white-owned — has become a particularly racially charged issue.

Afriforum, a rights group that mainly represents the views of the white Afrikaner minority, has described being a white farmer as one of the most dangerous jobs in the country.

A white farmer is twice as likely to be murdered as a policeman, and four times as likely as a private citizen, Afriforum said.

But Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies crime expert Gareth Newham said the evidence was inconclusive, with murder rates for young black men in townships likely to be far higher that for white farmers.

The South African Government denied whites were deliberately targeted, and said farm murders were part of the country's wider violent crime problem.</s>Cape Town – Australian Minister of Home Affairs Peter Dutton on Wednesday said his department is looking into methods that would facilitate the fast-tracking of visas for white South African farmers who want to relocate to Australia, according to reports.

Dutton, who also holds the ministerial post for immigration and border protection, told the Daily Telegraph that white South African farmers "deserve special attention" because of the "horrific circumstances" of land seizures and violence in the country.

ALSO READ: No 'nice' way to seize property – Maimane on land debate

Calls for land expropriation without compensation to redress the imbalances of South Africa’s past have been intensifying since President Cyril Ramaphosa took office, and the EFF tabled a motion in Parliament for a constitutional amendment to allow expropriation.

The motion was supported by the majority of MPs from a number of political parties in the National Assembly, including the ANC. It was however rejected by the DA, Cope, ACDP and FF Plus.

News of these developments reached international shores and led to a number of reports, including in the Australian media, which prompted Dutton’s comments.

"If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it’s a horrific circumstance they face," Dutton said, according to The Guardian.

ALSO READ: Land expropriation: No one must be intimidated, says Malema

Dutton said Australia has visa, refugee and humanitarian programmes which have the "potential to help some of these people" and his department is looking into it "because from what I have seen they do need help from a civilised country like ours".

"The people we’re talking about want to work hard, they want to contribute to a country like Australia," Dutton said.

According to lobby group AfriForum’s business wing, AfriBusiness, land expropriation is "not just a threat to whites", but to "7.5m black homeowners too".

ALSO WATCH: Malema clarifies questions on land restitution, relationship with DA in PE
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says white South African farmers could receive fast-track visas on "humanitarian grounds" amid calls to transfer land ownership from white to black farmers, and fears over the number of racially-motivated farm killings.