Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke stressed the need to keep the debate surrounding migration respectful.
"People used to talk about being able to engage in dog whistle politics, and you give a message, and only certain people would really hear what you were saying. It's not a dog whistle any more. It's a set of bag pipes coming over the hill," he said.
"We are a multicultural nation, and when people sledge multicultural Australia, there are a whole lot of Australian citizens who hear it, feel it deeply.
Meanwhile, there have been tense scenes across the country as anti-immigration rallies were met by anti-racism counterprotests in capital cities, as well as some smaller regional centres.