Say the words Australian values in Canberra, and watch the elites and activists panic.

That is exactly what happened when the Coalition launched the first wave of its immigration plan last week. You would think they had proposed something outrageous. They had not.

Home Affairs already requires most visa applicants to sign an Australian Values Statement. It includes committing to freedom, the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, equality, a fair go, and English as the national language.

The Coalition’s proposal was simple. Stop treating that statement like decorative paperwork and make compliance with it enforceable as a visa condition.

It also proposed a safe-country list to fast-track weak protection claims, the return of Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas, more funding to identify and remove unlawful non-citizens who have exhausted their legal avenues, and stronger social media screening through an Enhanced Screening Coordination Centre.

None of that should be controversial in a serious country. 

A nation has every right to decide who comes here, what standards apply, and whether those standards actually mean anything.

Then the outrage machine kicked in.

Tony Burke said the Coalition was chasing One Nation voters. Anne Aly said the plan walked away from Australia’s non-discriminatory immigration tradition. Usman Khawaja called it appalling and challenged Angus Taylor to admit it would discriminate against Muslims.

That panic is the real story.

Even ABC’s coverage quoted former Immigration Department deputy secretary and perennial immigration scold Abul Rizvi, saying that just about every Australian would support a stronger focus on Australian values. Still, his concern was with the legal detail and implementation. Rizvi’s typical stance is that the system is bad, but you cannot under any circumstances do anything about it, which also gives the game away. 

The political class knows the public backs high standards for incoming migrants.

The fact is, Australians are generous people.

They welcome newcomers who come here the right way, work hard, learn English, respect the law, and want to be part of the country.

What Australians are sick of is the sneering elites and activists, the instant suggestion that asking migrants to honour our values is somehow sinister, the immediate attempt to turn border enforcement into a morality play.

A serious country sets the rules.

A weak political class panics when anyone says so.