Australian opposition’s immigration proposal discriminatory toward Muslims

CANBERRA, Australia (MNTV) – Australia’s Labor government has warned that opposition leader Angus Taylor’s proposal to favor immigration from liberal democracies would fundamentally reshape the nation’s multicultural character, as cricket star Usman Khawaja called the plan “appalling” and challenged Taylor to acknowledge it would discriminate against Muslims.

Taylor said migrants from liberal democracies had a greater likelihood of subscribing to Australian values “compared to those migrating from places ruled by fundamentalists, extremists and dictators,” and said existing laws allowed individuals who reject core Australian values to settle in the country. 

The Coalition plans to add Australia’s existing values statement to the Migration Act, giving the government power to cancel visas and deport people not seen to comply with it. A new “safe country list” would also be introduced to fast-track rejections of asylum claims from countries deemed safe to return to.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke accused the Coalition of chasing voters moving toward Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, and challenged Taylor to name a single person the government cannot currently refuse a visa to or deport. 

“Mr Taylor has been asked a couple of times to provide this exact example and hasn’t, simply because what they are wanting is a discussion and a meme. There is no policy attached to what they’ve announced,” Burke said. Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly said the plan departs from the principles of Australia’s non-discriminatory immigration system.

Khawaja was more direct. “Don’t beat around the bush by using words such as ‘extremist,’ ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘dictators,'” he wrote on social media. “Most of the world shares the same values as Australia — respect everyone and don’t break the law. 

Don’t judge individuals based on their governments or government representatives.” Labor believes the proposal will further alienate multicultural communities, including electorates with large numbers of Chinese-Australian voters.