Tuesday Sep 12 09:08 AEST

Prime Minister John Howard says he is not in favour of abandoning a non-discriminatory immigration policy because of the message that would send around the world.

But he is in favour of reinforcing Australian values to those who intend migrating to Australia.

Mr Howard said he would consider Opposition Leader Kim Beazley's suggestion that Australian visa forms could include a statement of Australian values so all people arriving in the country would understand what was expected of them.

But he told Macquarie Radio on Tuesday it might be counter-productive if such a message was sent to short-term tourists.

"I mean there is a difference between somebody who's visiting the country for two or three days, and if somebody is a terrorist intent on carrying out a raid, they happily will pledge allegiance because they're about to blow themselves up," Mr Howard said.

"I consider all suggestions in this area, including those that come from the Opposition."

He said the message should be to people who come to Australia to live.

"What you have to do is to get people to integrate, and if part of that integration process is to better understand and more strongly commit to Australian values, then I'm all for it," Mr Howard said.

"I don't believe in abandoning a non-discriminatory immigration policy. That would send the wrong signal to moderate people around the world.

"They would feel they are excluded and would feel there was a universal hostility to a particular religious group and I don't think that is helping."