Alexander Downer condemned after saying refugees should be sent back

In a speech earlier this year, Alexander Downer said refugees are undermining the system by staying in Australia long term.

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer delivers his speech during the MCC Budapest Summit on Migration titled 'The Biggest Challenge of Our Time?' Source: MTI

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer has been condemned for "normalising racism and hatred" after accusing refugees who settle in Australia permanently of undermining the system.

In a speech to a migration summit in Hungary, Mr Downer also warned migrants who failed to learn English were setting up separate "Bantustan-style" communities in Australia.

The speech to the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest in March received little attention at the time, but has been widely criticised since it was first reported by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday.

Read the full article in English here.