There was huge backlash against a woman who went on a racist rant on a bus two days ago, we're not perfect but we're fairly tolerant as a society.....all things considered.
We are, yet are also voting in backwards, conservative, anti-humanitarian leaders and apathetically accepting policies and behaviours not online what is in the op.
reptilescorpio is right. For all our positive social, economic, and political gains, they've more or less made the populous as a whole apathetic and lazy. It doesn't take much effort to be disgusted and appalled at asylum seekers being sent back to a country that will almost assuredly torture/imprison them, rant about it on internet/facebook/twitter/whatever, then go back to a decent paying job, roof over your head, abundance of food, and affordable services, etc. We're far from perfect and potentially getting worse but as it is middle class Australia is well off and that is a pretty nice cushion against abhorrent shit governments do.
For humanitarian aid however we're an appalling country and deserve to be nothing less than named, shamed, and pressured by the rest of the developed world for our policies and actions. There's no turning back and I can only hope my children will be taught in school how badly the generations before fucked up.