Social cohesion
A striking statement from Noel Turnbull: the worldwide phenomenon that people suffering from financial hardship are more likely to have negative attitudes to migrants, immigration and different religious faiths to themselves “explains much about the Dutton appeal”.
Peter Dutton is a divider. He is an (albeit paler) imitation of Trump, master of division via hate and blame. Dutton might attempt to rehabilitate his reputation over the next few months, or double down. Either way, his record stands: walking out of Rudd’s apology to the stolen generations, the “African gangs” accusation, “jokes” about rising sea levels in the Pacific Island nations, and many divisive decisions and statements on immigration. He has the backing of the Murdoch media which peddles hate-filled misinformation.
This latest social cohesion research shows “71% agree that accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger, while four in five agree that multiculturalism has been good for Australia”. We need to promote the positive and call out the dog-whistling which will inevitably ramp up during the election campaign.
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