From Flufferfax:
…an Essential Research poll released on Wednesday found 49 per cent of Australians support a ban on Muslim immigration, including 60 per cent of Coalition voters, 40 per cent of Labor voters and 34 per cent of Greens voters.
The most common reasons for wanting a ban were fears over terrorism, and a belief that Muslim migrants do not integrate into society or share Australian values. The poll was first conducted in early August and then repeated to ensure it was not a rogue.
“It’s too a big a number to say it’s an unrepresentative rump that should be shunned from polite society,” Essential pollster Peter Lewis told Fairfax Media.
Mr Lewis said the results showed mainstream political parties needed to re-engage with “outsider politics” as disenfranchised voters flocked to the fringes.
…If the poll is an accurate reflection of Australian voters, it highlights a significant hardening in anti-Muslim sentiment. A Roy Morgan poll conducted in October last year found broad support for Muslim immigration, with 28 per cent of respondents declaring themselves opposed.
It would be strategically and socially mad to single-out Muslim immigration for obvious reasons. But that does not mean no response is required. More palatable is to cut the entire intake to historic levels while raising the refugee intake (which Turnbull did today).
The population ponzi is in trouble.
