Yesterday, potato in chief, Peter Dutton, made claims on Sky News that refugees coming to Australia would be both illiterate and innumerate in their own language as well as in English and that, “these people would be taking Australian jobs”.
Politicians from Labor and the Greens came out slamming his words but prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has stood by Dutton.
Well that wasn’t good enough for Today show host Karl Stefanovic, who this morning spoke out on his own family’s immigration experience, as well as his colleague Tim Gilbert, and how they came to be in Australia.
There was no beating around the bush for Stefanovic as he stated with no uncertain terms how he felt about Dutton’s comments.
“It’s a cliche, but what Peter Dutton said yesterday was un-Australian,” he stated. “Given his time again he may have chosen a different way to a articulate it, but what’s done is done, and I think he needs to apologise. Not only for those arriving now, but for those who have come and gone, giving their blood sweat and tears, and handed down their values to the next generations, who are many of our leaders today.”
“It’s a cliche, but what Peter Dutton said yesterday was un-Australian.”
On Twitter, the response has been an outpouring of stories relating to firsthand experience of immigration success stories from across Australia.
BuzzFeed Australia's political editor, Mark Di Stefano, started the ball rolling and then the stories didn’t stop:
Only 43 days until the election. Sigh.
