Opinion | Is This the End of the Line for Nationalism in Australia?

Just two months ago, Australia seemed destined for what the country’s commentariat calls a “Tampa” election. That’s local shorthand for a campaign characterized by race baiting and scare tactics about refugees — a term derived from the 2001 election a few months after the government of Prime Minister John Howard ordered special forces to board a Norwegian freight ship called the MV Tampa, carrying more than 400 rescued refugees, to prevent it from reaching Australia.

A new law that allows refugees on Nauru and Manus Island to come to Australia for necessary medical treatment promised to put refugees front and center in the upcoming general election, scheduled for May 18.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his coalition government saw this legislation passed against their will. They had railed against it, warning that the law would allow “rapists” and “pedophiles” into Australia. An opinion poll around that time showed a significant bounce for the government.

How long ago that seems. In the wake of the Christchurch, New Zealand, terrorist attack on Muslims last month, the Morrison government now finds itself under pressure over issues that recently appeared to give it an advantage.