Bill Shorten used a key dinner with ethnic community groups in Canberra to slam Malcolm Turnbull’s rewording of race hate speech laws.

In his speech to the Australian Migration and Settlement Awards the opposition leader condemned the “powerful, vocal, middle-aged men” who think the change is “all just a thoroughly interesting philosophical discussion”.

“I’ve never been a victim of discrimination based on the colour of my skin, what I wear, or what I believe in,” Mr Shorten said to the room, which included the Prime Minister.

“I’ve never come face to face with prejudice and, by an overwhelming majority, neither have the people who are arguing that the Racial Discrimination Act needs to change.”

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In a message clearly intended for the prime minister, Mr Shorten said it was easy to “denigrate” a protection you never need, and “dismiss” a hurt you’ll never feel.

“Racism isn’t a theory for the Asian student, being heckled and abused on her train home,” he said.

“It’s not a hypothetical for the man in a turban driving a cab, or working the night shift at a service station, being mocked by drunks.

“It’s not a debating question for the Jewish family who see anti-Semitism on the rise and swastikas being splashed around as graffiti.

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“It’s not an academic consideration for the child who comes home from school in tears because of what some bully said about the colour of her skin, or her 'funny' name, or the favourite lunch her parents packed.”

The government on Tuesday announced it would amend Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, and planned to replace the words "offend", "insult" and "humiliate" with "harass and intimidate", which would set the bar higher for complaints.

Prime Minister Turnbull said it would protect free speech however the reforms look likely to be defeated in the Senate, with Labor, the Greens and necessary crossbenchers opposed to the change.

“People who make sacrifices, who work hard ... are wondering why their parliament is arguing whether it should be easier to insult, offend and humiliate them on the basis of race,” Mr Shorten said.

The bold reform would also see the Australian Human Rights Commission given the power to head off vexatious complaints at an early stage.

Mr Shorten used his speech to defend the Migration Act from "political extremists" who he said seek to profit from an anti-migration message.

"They tell us that cutting migration will clear up traffic and make housing cheaper. [That] it will make our internet faster, our schools better and our weather sunnier," he said.

"Citizens who feel like they’re not getting a fair go are told to blame minorities, to demonise difference.

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"You are the counterargument to that dishonesty. You are living proof of the benefits of migration," he told the audience.

The prime minister earlier in the evening also sang the praises of those migrants who laid the foundations for contemporary Australia.

“No matter their circumstances, everyone who comes to this country knows, like the millions who came before, that Australia is a nation that has been built by the hands, the wits and the ambitions of its immigrants," Malcolm Turnbull said.

"We welcome newcomers with open arms and mutual respect because we are confident in our culture, our institutions and our laws."

'A betrayal of Australia's multicultural communities'