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.
Speaking to a largely conservative audience at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest, the former foreign minister said refugees only deserve protection for the duration of the event, usually a conflict, that they're fleeing.
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer delivers his speech during the MCC Budapest Summit on Migration titled 'The Biggest Challenge of Our Time?' Source: MTI
"When that's finished they should be peacefully able to return home," he said.
He accused refugees of seeking more than safety.
"These people are not looking just for protection, these people are looking to migrate and they're looking to migrate to the country they want to go to."
"They get protection in all sorts of other countries on the way to your country, but no, no, no, we're going to let them in and become migrants. This is of course undermining the whole system."
He also stressed the need for migrants to learn English in order to better integrate.
"We want them to be able to fully participate in the activities of our country and not to have them go off and live in separate communities and live a kind of Bantustan-style life totally separate from the rest of the mainstream of Australia."
A Bantustan was an area set aside for indigenous African people in South Africa as part of the apartheid policy.
While Mr Downer won applause from the Hungarian crowd, he has been criticised at home since his comments were highlighted in Australia.
Former Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said it was "inflammatory far-right rhetoric".
"Sowing division, whipping up fear and anger towards immigrants and refugees: this is what the normalisation of racism and hatred looks like," he tweeted.
Prominent Indigenous academic Marcia Langton pointed out that the "Downer dynasty" had helped create Aboriginal reserves after taking their land.
The spotlight has returned unexpectedly to Mr Downer, who as former Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, helped trigger the Mueller investigation into Russian links with Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
His role has been highlighted since it was revealed last week that the US President had asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison for help to investigate the origins of the inquiry.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban has taken a hard line on immigration. Source: AAP
Led by ultra-conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has become a go-to destination for Australian conservatives on the speaking circuit.
Last month, former prime minister Tony Abbott spoke at a Hungarian demographic summit aimed at promoting the "traditional family model" where he warned Europe against the "military-age male" migrants "swarming" their shores.
He was joined by long-serving Liberal MP Kevin Andrews, who presented a paper urging policy action to address declining birth rates.
