Immigration Minister Peter Dutton made a deliberate and calculated dog-whistle to racism through his demonisation of refugees on Tuesday evening. Mr Dutton asserted that increasing Australia's intake of "these people" as proposed by Labor and the Greens would involve accepting refugees "who would not be literate in their own language, let alone English". They would take Australian jobs - "no question about that" - and languish on the dole and Medicare.
The comments predictably unleashed a pack of disgusting comments aimed at belittling refugees and others who were not "true Australians". 
For more than 12 hours Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull let this demonisation continue and Mr Dutton's cheap shot go unchallenged by the Coalition. In fact Queensland Senator Ian Macdonald backed Mr Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop offered her qualified support, saying her colleague was making the "self-evident" point that it is highly expensive to resettle refugees and that it is time for a "reality check" on the issue.
When Mr Turnbull did respond about 10am on Wednesday his comments fell well short of what most Australians would regard as prime ministerial. "We have the most successful multicultural society in the world," he said - and the Herald agrees. "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.
However, he added: "It's very expensive. We don't begrudge the money but it's important to get it right."
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 a new life.
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.
Governments should explore policy options without dog-whistling. The level of intake also needs a measured, evidence-based debate. The mix of immigration between skilled and unskilled workers is important, but we cannot simply assert that we should accept only the most literate and wealthiest.
What a sad indictment that yet another election campaign has come to this. It is arguably worse now because Mr Turnbull knows what he has to do: stop the extremes in his team from dividing this nation. Yet Mr Turnbull is scared of offending the supporters of former prime minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Dutton has been playing the refugee card since the campaign began. He claims Labor is split on stopping the boats. It is. Some Labor candidates do not support the party line which is almost indistinguishable from the Coalition's. But the focus should be the issue, not the vulnerable people.
Mr Dutton knows full well that demonising refugees, belittling them as humans and rejecting their potential contribution to Australia will always create just the sort of feral outbreak and evocation of Pauline Hanson that we saw following his comments.
Mr Turnbull should have repudiated his minister and those comments immediately. The Prime Minister still has a chance to be stronger in his defence of refugees. The Herald urges him to unite the nation on this issue.