While it is said that a really bad idea never quite goes away, we could surely try to make multiculturalism an exception to that unhappy rule. For nearly all its history, Australia got on perfectly well without multiculturalism, and developed an exceptionally free, peaceful, harmonious and democratic society.

Multiculturalism seems to have begun here as a vague idea during the Whitlam-Fraser episode – something like more Chinese restaurants, and colourful ethnic folk dances.