Arguments that equate a desire to control immigration with racism are often mounted by those who wish to assert their own purity against a straw man. The truth is, there is nothing inherently racist about wanting to control your borders and there is nothing unique about the way Australians react to the issue.

In fact, Australians have been as good as anyone about accepting people from overseas. That much of the concern, when it arises, is focussed on those who arrive by boat is hardly surprising. Not only does the sensationalist media spotlight boat arrivals and grossly exaggerate what is happening, but one of our major parties, the Liberal-National Coalition, viciously exploits the issue for political gain. This may tap into the racist feeling of some (it's not as if no-one is a racist ever) but it is more likely to be tapping into a range of other concerns, from jobs to the environment to national sovereignty.

In the face of misinformation from influential sections of Australian society, the only workable solution is a long and consistent campaign of pushback, of countering lies with facts and of standing up for the principle of dealing justly with asylum seekers while not dismissing as racist anyone who wants to place limits on our overall intake. The reason the Opposition can exploit the issue is at least in part because the Labor Party (in and out of government) is incapable of sustaining such an argument. The fact that, at the moment, Labor is led by a moral coward of the magnitutde of Kevin Rudd makes things especially difficult.

No-one should underestimate the difficulties for any PM dealing with this matter. As I say, influential forces within society are thrilled to use the subject as a way of delegitisimng a Labor government. And there are genuine concerns out there about population growth. But when the PM is as singularly weak as Kevin Rudd it is almost certain that Labor will capitulate in the face of a scare campaign.

It needn't be this way. During the hysteria over Tampa, independent MP, Peter Andren refused to countenance the fear mongering, went into his electorate and made the case for acceptance of asylum seekers. According to the Australians-are-racist crowd, not to mention the jelly-backs who run Labor's campaigning, this should have meant disaster for Andren. Fact is, though, he was reelected with an increased majority.

So the hysteria and lies can be fought if you have the spine to do it. Unfortunately, Kevin Rudd doesn't.

Which is a shame because he virtually had a clean slate on which to work. He made some genuine improvements after the disgraceful Howard years and the sky didn't fall in. There was no immediate outcry against what his new government had done. Had he followed through on those changes and explained them and supported them, especially as the Opposition and sections of the media started running their usual tripe on the matter, we might've put away forever this particular political football.

Instead, he lacked the courage of his convictions and it culminated in his government's announcement last week that they would no longer process asylum seekers from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Not only did he bent over frontwards for the scaremongers, he didn't even have the nerve to announce the changes himself (For heaven's sake, he wouldn't even Tweet the information himself, and instead hid behind his staff).

The clever clogs in the press argue that Rudd is playing smart politics, that he is doing what he has to do in order to protect marginal seats. But how smart is it to hand your opponents a weapon they can use against you any time they choose?

Seeing how easily he wilts under pressure, all the Opposition ever has to do is scream something scary, no matter how deceptive, have it reported by its friends in the media, and wait till Kevin Rudd runs away. (There is no reason to think this will only apply to immigration either.) How is that smart politics?

Standing up to the lies isn't easy, but it's the only way Labor will ever get on top of this issue.

What's more, the argument can only be won from government; but until Labor has a leader willing to tackle it head on, the Coalition will exploit it. And they will win every time. The upshot will be the suffering of genuine asylum seekers and the lasting inability of our country to discuss sensibly the way we want to handle immigration and population.

For one brief, shining moment, we had a Prime Minister who was better placed than anybody to move the debate along. He showed that he wanted to do the right thing. Unfortunately, he didn't have the courage to stand up to the liars and the bullies. It turns out photo-ops outside church are no substitute for genuine Christian courage. Well, wadderya know?

As I said earlier, there is nothing necessarily racist about wanting to control immigration levels. But there is something inherently cowardly about a Prime Minister who, with all the communications resources he has at his disposal, allows debate to be dominated by the scaremongers. The country deserves better.