In The Proposition, Crikey puts forward a provocation to columnists, commentators and readers that bounces off a hot topic.
Today, in part inspired by recent comments by Kristina Keneally, the Opposition’s immigration spokeswoman, the proposition is:
The current crisis has highlighted the need to substantially cut Australia’s immigration levels, even if that hurts the economy.
Australia does not have excessive immigration intake. Nation-building efforts necessary to pull Australia from economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus crisis will depend on labour supply that the nation alone cannot meet.
Migrants will be crucial to Australia’s recovery and do not pose competition for local workers but are complementary.
Ultimately, immigration helps ease the pressure on local workers (and families) to pay ever-increasing tax to maintain the well-being we have become accustomed to in this country.
— Liz Allen, demographer and author of the new book, The Future of Us
Immigration is valuable for more than the economy. Migration fosters diversity, tolerance and innovation.
The world’s most successful immigration nation, the USA, has been at its best when welcoming strangers to its shores, diminished when xenophobic and isolationist.
Immigration makes Australia socially and culturally richer, and as a side benefit, helps the economy. Without it we would, over time, risk becoming mean, narrow minded, cantankerous and disliked by the rest of the world.
— Stephen Bartos, Crikey columnist, consultant and former senior public servant
We need to reverse the trend to rely so much on using temporary migrants to fill workplace gaps, but that should not be done by some facile “cut the intake” argument. Instead, we can:
- return to making permanent residency visas more easily available, for family as well work-related visas
- provide better training opportunities for everyone
- provide far stronger, genuinely enforceable, workplace rights for everyone, including migrants who first arrive here on temporary visas.
— Andrew Bartlett, former senator for Queensland and parliamentary spokesperson on immigration issues; former research fellow on migration issues; current cafe owner and barista
The current crisis gives us a breather to debate appropriate immigration levels without the usual ideological divisions.
Australia has prospered from large-scale immigration over the past generation but governments have failed to keep up with the surge in population.
With immigration now paused due to the pandemic we can reassess the mix going forward. How much immigration do we need to sustain a prosperous economy? What type of immigrant do we want in age, skills, nationality? These are the questions we should now be asking without rancour.
— Janine Perrett, Crikey columnist, radio/TV journalist and presenter
Australia is an immigration nation, forged through the aspirations of millions from around the globe.
The new demand they create has been a primary driver of the economy to the benefit for all, albeit with continuing negative consequences for the national ecology and intensifying pressure on Indigenous people.
A multicultural ecologically perceptive society remains our only hope for a civil future; otherwise we will have a racist, inward looking and angrily selfish society that shrinks in its humanity, its creativity and its compassion.
Australia has to continue to be a place of freedom and opportunity, melding those who have been here for generations with those who have just arrived
— Andrew Jakubowicz, UTS emeritus professor of sociology; former Multicultural NSW advisory board member
Our next proposition is: Public servants should never express their personal or political views in public. Tell us your thoughts by emailing a response of no more than 80 words to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication.
Increased immigration is unproductive in the long term if the only benefit is to sustain real estate and force down wages. Such a strategy will not improve living standards nor strengthen the fundamentals of the economy in a sustainable way.
Certainly Senator Kenneally is correct., Because of the real unemployment / underemployment figures Senator Kenneally wasn’t ‘dog whistling’ when she recently called for a review of Australia’s temporary work visa system.
She obviously provided good talking points, even though she continues to be misquoted, even by the introduction of this piece. I agree with kk that this rocking up by foreigners on planes is acceptable, but not in boats (although they are allowed to disembark if the boat is big enough).
“With immigration now paused due to the pandemic we can reassess the mix going forward. ” What about reassessing the mix going backward?
I agree with Kristina Keneally…this ‘temporary’ visa immigration should be curtailed until the scope of un/under-employment here becomes clearer, probably sometime next year. Coupled with that should be a better pathway to education and training for all Australian citizens and permanent residents.
Another ‘policy’ which is ludicrous is that which allows foreign students to stay in this country after they have completed their education…should NOT be happening. They should join the permanent immigration intake like everyone else, otherwise no one has any idea where immigration is going in the future. This affects planning in just about every area of society.
Another aspect of immigration is climate change. How many more people can this ‘desert’ continent support? We simply cannot go on importing more people every year without the necessary water and amenities to sustain life.
Having said all that…I don’t care where our PERMANENT residents come from, and think it is a good idea to have a mix of people from all around the world. As the song says: “We are one, but we are many…”, and long may it continue!
I just think everyone needs to come in an orderly fashion, reduced numbers and planned for on a permanent basis!!