Australian voters are split on whether to cut the number of migrants coming from Muslim countries, as the Morrison government considers an overhaul of immigration and population rules within weeks.
A special Fairfax-Ipsos survey finds only 14 per cent of voters support an increase in the number of immigrants from Muslim countries while 35 per cent believe the intake should stay the same.
But another 46 per cent believe the intake should be reduced a lot or a little - a position backed by a clear majority of Coalition voters and one third of Labor voters.
The exclusive poll was conducted after the Bourke Street terror attack by Hassan Khalif Shire Ali and amid growing calls from some conservative members of Parliament to cut migration from Muslim nations.
.... Australians often over-estimate the proportion of the population that is Muslim, with Ipsos surveys finding respondents believe it is 17 per cent when the reality is 3 per cent.
The government runs a non-discriminatory migration program but has discretion in the humanitarian intake to put a priority on some over others, with the Syrian intake of 12,000 refugees in recent years said to favour Yazidis, Christians and other minorities.
Australians have supported a multicultural migration intake for many years, according to annual research by the Scanlon Foundation on social cohesion, but the findings also show a “hierarchy of ethnic preference” on migrants. [The Sydney Morning Herald] Read more
