This opinion piece by Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman appeared in The Guardian Australia.
Australia's leaders tout the benefits of our prosperous, multicultural society. Yet when it comes to speaking about refugees, people seeking protection and migrants, the policy framing shifts.
This week's federal cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of Tony Burke, who is taking on the home affairs, immigration and multicultural affairs portfolios, provides a significant opportunity to change the perceptions and attitudes which influence how we talk about migrants, refugees and people seeking protection - to foster an anti-racist approach at a time of division and to redefine what it means to be an "immigrant" in Australia.
The Coalition's home affairs experiment was doomed to fail. Tony Burke has a huge job on his hands
