Whenever the Coalition comes under pressure, the same reflex returns: stir anxiety about borders, migration and who belongs here. It is a formula refined during the Howard years and one the party still reaches for when ideas run thin.
Instead of serious policies on housing, wages, health or productivity, we get another round of division dressed up as leadership. Migrants become an easy target. Communities are encouraged to feel threatened. Complex national challenges are reduced to slogans and blame.
Australia deserves better than politics built on fear.
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