However, he added: "It's very expensive. We don't begrudge the money but it's important to get it right."

"The reason we are successful is … because we invest an enormous amount of money into resettlement services allowing [refugees] to integrate," he said – and so we should.

"We have the most successful multicultural society in the world," he said – and the Herald agrees.

When Mr Turnbull did respond about 10am on Wednesday his comments fell well short of what most Australians would regard as prime ministerial.

Three hours later, Mr Turnbull said many refugees had never been employed and/or did not have much education. "That is no basis for criticising them," he added. But the Prime Minister did not concede Mr Dutton's comments had exactly that effect without the broader context. Indeed, Mr Turnbull called Mr Dutton an "outstanding Immigration Minister".

The Prime Minister's comments are not an adequate repudiation of Mr Dutton's slurs. We fear Mr Turnbull, who usually reveals a humane side, is placing politics above people and national unity.

He should have stressed more strongly that Australia is primarily an immigrant nation. Many of our forebears were refugees or asylum seekers. Some of our most successful citizens come from refugee, uneducated and non-English speaking backgrounds. We enjoy a modern advanced economy because of their hard work and zeal to make the best of their opportunity for a new life. Wave after wave of refugees and immigrants have melded into Australian society and made this country better. They have urged their children get an education and contribute. They work most of their lives. They consume. They run businesses. They generate jobs.

We have a global duty to share the solution to the mass movement of refugees. Asylum seekers are not "these people". They are not political pawns to be sacrificed to appeal to the base instincts of some voters. As the minister responsible for Australia's treatment of refugees, Mr Dutton has a higher duty to show some respect and bring the nation together, not split it on race grounds. As Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull has an even higher duty to rule for all Australians.

The Herald has supported the government's and Labor's stopping-the-boats policy because it has saved lives at sea. We have also demanded asylum seekers be treated humanely, third countries be found for resettlement and the overall refugee intake be raised to allow more people to come from camps beyond South-East Asia.