"Illiterate and innumerate" refugees would take Australian jobs or "languish" on the dole and use free health services provided by Medicare, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said, in remarks Labor has condemned as "deeply offensive".

Mr Dutton was responding to criticisms by conservative Sky News presenter Paul Murray when he made the comments about a Greens idea to boost the refugee intake to 50,000.

"They won't be numerate or literate in their own language, let alone English," Mr Dutton said.

"These people would be taking Australian jobs, there's no question about that.

"For many of them that would be unemployed, they would languish in unemployment queues and on Medicare and the rest of it so there would be huge cost and there's no sense in sugar-coating that, that's the scenario."

Mr Dutton has ramped up his media appearances in the opening weeks of the election campaign to exploit internal Labor divisions on asylum seeker policy.

Labor has hit back over the remarks, describing them as xenophobic and offensive, and calling for Mr Dutton to apologise.

"These are deeply offensive comments and Mr Dutton should immediately apologise for these half-baked remarks," a Labor spokesman said.

"This country has a proud tradition of multiculturalism and for Mr Dutton to make such narrow-minded and xenophobic remarks exposes the right-wing brigade behind Malcolm Turnbull.

"One of the first acts of this government was to slash Australia's humanitarian intake to 13, 750."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has vowed the Labor Party will stand firm on the issue but has struggled to contain an outbreak of nearly two-dozen MPs and candidates who want the opposition to take a different line.

The issue dominated Labor's first few days of campaigning after it was revealed the candidate in the seat of Melbourne, Sophie Ismail, flagged concerns about turning back asylum seeker boats and the offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Mr Dutton's characterisation of asylum seekers is at odds with the Refugee Council, which says: "Research has shown that refugees, once they have the opportunity to establish themselves, make important economic, civil and social contributions to Australian society. Australia's refugees and humanitarian entrants have found success in every field of endeavour, including the arts, sports, media, science, research, business and civic and community life."

The council acknowledges the difficulties refugees from non-English speaking countries have in learning a new language but says: "Refugee and humanitarian entrants are often keen to make up for lost time and take up the many and diverse opportunities provided by Australia's education and training systems. Refugee young people in particular can be highly motivated and ambitious in their educational and career goals."

bogarde73 wrote on May 18^th, 2016 at 8:46am:


are you referring to the concern that they take our jobs? or the concern that they come here to spend their lives on the dole?