Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison urged his colleagues to latch on to the electorate's growing concerns over multiculturalism and Muslim immigration in particular, Fairfax reports, citing unnamed sources.
The revelation comes as a new advisory body is set to champion multiculturalism in the face of challenges.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says a Multicultural Advisory Council will advise the government on multicultural affairs, and will help ensure Australian government services respond to the needs of migrant and refugee communities, AAP reports.
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Mr Bowen says while it appears fashionable around the world to say multiculturalism is dead, or to blame it for crime and terrorism, Australia is unique.
But at a Coalition meeting in December, Morrison wanted to push the issue of ''Muslim immigration'', "Muslims in Australia" and the "inability" of Muslim migrants to integrate, a report in the Sydney Morning Herald says, citing unnamed sources. It says Morrison has refused to comment.
It also says that Deputy Leader Julie Bishop and former immigration minister Philip Ruddock strongly disagreed with the idea.
It follows a week where Morrison was criticised for saying asylum-seekers should not have been flown from Christmas Island to Sydney to attend the funerals of relatives of the December boat crash, which he later apologised for.
