Vilification of communities with origins in Asia, Africa and the Middle East; Muslims being generically targeted as terrorists; a rise in anti-Semitism; and abuse of Indigenous Australians: these have all, unfortunately, become things that some of our political leaders are prepared to pursue, only faintly condemn, or at the least deal with very inconsistently.
Migration is intrinsically tied up in all these provocations: our intolerance of each new wave of migrants stems back to the early days of the colony. But just now that intolerance is also tied up in questions about our economy and about a very real housing crisis faced by many Australian families.
Can Australia actually have a sensible debate about immigration? By Laura Tingle, ABC News