Contributed by Ugly

Malcolm Turnbull and the rest of the gang in Canberra, are mounting yet another attack on Australians. This time it comes in the shape of a move to extend waiting times for migrants to access social security benefits.

By doing this, the government is trying to entrench open discrimination. A section of those whose home is in Australia will get less than others, and it will apply if the person cannot find a job, get sick or have a baby.

Waiting times and the assistance given are already a disgrace across the board, and for some, are about to become even worse, if the bill gets through.

Migrants will also be discriminated against, whether working or not, when it comes to family allowance.

Whjat is even worse than this, is that the government is promoting prejudice, and if successful, will have consequences that go far beyond having to wait longer to get some assistance from Centrelink. It is a threat to our national unity as a people and needs to be opposed all the way down the line.

If the bill becomes a reality, Australians will have been divided into seperate groups, and this will make it easier for the government to use divide and rule to pick us all off. Lower the entitlements to some and this will soon spread to all.

It is possible to fight back. A community backlash defeated the attempt to dismantle the Racial Discrimination Act last year. There is already a growing reaction against the bill and the same can be achieved again

GetUp, which is already in the government’s sights, has joined the effort to make this discriminatory bill a dead letter and has launched an online petition. We should all sign it. This will help to pressure the politicians to back away.

GetUp says: “Any government that is cruel enough to drum up discrimination against our migrant families, struggling to make ends meet, will face the force of our movement.”

In the longer run though, effort must be put into changing attitudes in sections of our community that work to divide us from one another. Our strength as Australians is in our diversity. Those who seek to deny this, weaken us.

The challenge is to engage in practical ways, working together across ethnic communities, to make Australia a better place for ourselves and our descendants.