From next month, fully vaccinated Australians will be able to leave and reenter Australia as they please as the country sheds its hermit kingdom status. It’s fantastic news for those looking to travel, take a holiday or visit family. But the freedoms only apply to citizens and permanent residents.
Those on temporary visas won’t be able to reenter the country without an exemption, which has thus far proven difficult to score. Many are calling for the government to prioritise exemptions and visas for those wanting to visit family on compassionate grounds.
‘Why would we stay?’
Faye Betts, a UK citizen who moved to Australia for work in December 2019 with her family says she feels like a second-class citizen.
“There’s all this rhetoric about making progress but there’s no clear plan, and the plans we do have are leaving certain groups behind,” Betts told Crikey. “Temporary visa holders have no rights.”
2020 was especially tough for her family. Her then-15-year-old daughter Ellie stayed behind in the UK to finish off her school year. Instead of flying to her family at Christmas, Ellie was separated from her parents and two sisters for 15 months, living with her grandmother. Multiple flights booked to get Ellie here were cancelled, and her two sisters missed their older sibling.
While Ellie was finally reunited with her family in February of this year a new dilemma has arisen: Ellie’s grandmother lives alone and wants to see her family currently in Australia.
“I wish families were given priority over general tourists so that we could leave or bring family over to visit on compassionate grounds,” Betts said.
Betts said had her family known how long the borders were going to be shut and how difficult it would be to see family, they would have moved back to the UK.
“I understand the reasons for the restrictions, but I wish temporary visa holders were given some consideration,” she said.
“Australia is losing these skilled migrants who can’t see their families and think, ‘why would I stay here?’”.
In June this year, there were 509,600 overseas migrant arrivals — 40,800 fewer than in June 2019. There were 103,500 estimated arrivals to Australia, a 93.4% decrease when compared to pre-COVID levels in June 2019.
Where’s the pathway out?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison emphasised on Friday that it was “time to give Australians their lives back” as the country inches close to 80% double vaccination rates for the over-16 population.
But his announcement lacked key details. Home quarantine is being piloted in several states, and details about which countries Australians can visit are vague.
It’s not just temporary residents doing it tough due to the lack of clarity around border reopening and exemptions — citizens and permanent residents are having problems too. Sri, an Indian national with permanent residency who asked for her surname to be withheld, gave birth to her baby daughter in July last year. Her parents weren’t able to get an exemption to come see their new grandchild and help Sri, who doesn’t have family aside from her husband in Australia.
Her daughter was born via C-section and was diagnosed with hip dysplasia which may require surgery. Sri developed post-natal depression and struggled with her physical recovery.
“I had a very rough start with breastfeeding and I wish I had my mum’s experience and guidance,” Sri told Crikey. Her exemption requests to have her parents visit we denied.
Last week, Sri made the decision to fly to India but is now torn about returning.
“The moment I handed bubba to my parents I felt so much purpose and satisfaction,” she said. “It’s been a week since I am here now and I have not had a single teardrop in my eyes, and feel like the biggest mystery and question has been solved.”
She’d like to come home to her husband next month to make sure the family does not miss its second Christmas together, but is worried about finding a flight and doesn’t want to deprive her daughter of her grandparents.
“It feels like I can’t have it all,” she said. “I appreciate and understand the way the government has kept us safe during the pandemic [but] I would really appreciate some free movement … to help people like us who have made Australia their home but have origins and family overseas.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told Crikey temporary visa holders don’t need an exemption to leave Australia, but foreign nationals, including temporary visa holders, continue to require a travel exemption to enter Australia, unless they are in an exempt category.
“Further information on travel and entry requirements for foreign nationals, including temporary visa holders, will be available as we progress through the four phases of the national plan to transition Australia’s national COVID-19 response,” the spokesperson said.
There is a very large disconnect here, between the headline and Ms Bett’s comments on the one hand, and immigration law on the other. By definition, someone on a temporary visa is not a citizen at all – not second class, not third or even tenth.
While I’m no fan of the current Government’s immigration policies in general, a dose of perspective is needed by your reporters and interviewees.
But we are taxpayers who have gone through exactly the same 2 years as citizens and permanent residents so why should we be treated differently?
They pay taxes and don’t sponge off the Welfare or Medicare Systems (Visa dependent) so why should they be treated differently? Great way for someone to be welcomed to the supposed “Land of the Fair Go”.
Are you saying someone should be a citizen on day one? Some people are, partners and refugees get lots of rights as they should.
But should an international student arrive here and on day one have 100% citizens rights? How would we pay for that?
Did it strike anyone else that Morrison made the travel annoincement at the same time as Gladys was giving her resignation? A truly look over hete moment. Since the announcement nothing, no direction on how it will be implemented just some vaccine passport ramblings. I stated recently that the vaccine passport Australia will be another monumental cockup, and I truly believe that. People need to know how this will work and what hoops they need to jump through so they can plan ahead. The only plan in town is Scomo getting reelected, and he will promose and announce anything to further that ambition. And as for tourism returning anytime soon, maybe another announcement of no substance
Everyone is having it tough in Covid – typical formula for news and media is to run a story then pick out and highlight some poor whinger as an example to give the impression that there is a major problem that effects hordes of people and the policy is not correct – rather than look at the logical reasons behind the policy.
Indeed
Excellent article Amber!
Having actually been through the “pleasure” of experiencing Australia’s Draconian, opaque, racist, Immigration System (as a Sponsor), I have great sympathy for Visa Applicants.
The stats provided by Lord Diarrhoea don’t tell the full story and are inaccurate in 2 Key Areas: Temporary Visa’s and Partner Visa’s
Temporary Visa’s
“Morrisin has not closed our borders and plenty of temporary visa holders have arrived since.”
“20,000 temporary visa holders arrived in June”. Sorry but that is incorrect. There were only 10,900 temporary visa holder arrivals in June.
ABS Provisional Stats for June 2021 are viewable on their website.
After peaking at 2.41 million in December 2019, the number of temporary entrants in Australia fell to 1.67 million by the end of July 2021, a fall of 30.7%.
The decline contributed to an unprecedented negative net overseas migration of 95,300 in the 12 months to March 2021. This was the largest negative net overseas migration on record with the previous largest negative net overseas migration being negative 12,117 in 1931.
The large portion of the Immigration Visa programme going to people already in Australia has also contributed to the significant decline in temporary entrants in Australia.
On to Partner Visa approvals:
“The approval rate for partner visa applications increased from around 90% in recent years to 98% in 2020-21”
There was indeed a record level of partner visa grants of 72,376 in 2020-21, with another 72,000 places allocated to partners in 2021-22.
Given that it takes between 3 and 4 years from Application to Grant, this simply reflects the clearance of part of the long-standing backlog in Applications.
There was a shift in the balance of the program away from the skill stream to the family stream with only 50.7% of the program going to the skill stream. This shift in the balance to the family stream was not due to COVID-19 but because the Government at last stopped (unlawfully) restricting the number of places for partner visas and instead delivered the largest partner category in Australia’s history at over 72,000 albeit. As an aside, in the past program year, partner visas granted in Australia were nearly twice the number of offshore partner visas granted.
In 2018-2019 the Government refused 9.4% of partner visas; and the AAT set aside 51% of refused or cancelled partner visas, including setting aside 52% of partner visas refused onshore and 53% refused offshore.
In 2020-2021 the Government refused 2% of partner visas; and the AAT set aside 58% of refused or cancelled partner visas, including setting aside 59% of partner visas refused onshore and 60% refused offshore.
The number of partner visas refused by the Government has decreased by almost 8% of what it used to be in 2018-2019 while no significant migration laws or policies regarding partner visas have changed
The AAT overturn rates haven’t changed so why the decline in refusals?
1. Labor MP Julian Hill requested the Australian National Audit Office to conduct an audit into the partner visa process in August this year. His claimed issues covered the Department’s illegal capping on partner visas, prolonged processing time, discrimination against people whose first language were not English and so on.
2. Former Deputy Secretary of Department of Immigration, Dr Abul Rizvi, published an article giving details about the Government’s illegal action on partner visas in the past few years.
Just so everyone is clear, racism is alive and well in Australian Immigration.
Labor MP Julian Hill called it out formally in his letter of 23/7/21 to the ANAO:
“In 2021, if your husband or wife is from Afghanistan, it takes 43 months on average to get a 309 visa; if they are from the USA, it’s 7 months”.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/partner-visas-the-big-winner-in-new-migration-program,15590.
Given the discrimination against my wife that we experienced (resulting in a verbal apology for the Australian Vice Consul in China as well as others much higher up the food chain in the Ministers office), I can only echo Julian Hills concerns about our Immigration Laws and processes that so blatantly discriminate against Non-Whites along with the damage that our Immigration policies cause.
I think you have to separate out the issues.
Partner Visa – I have no issue with the partner visa. Marry who you want. Love who you want. Come from wherever be whatever race. No caps.
Working Migration – present an honest business case for the explosion in low wage workers. Not only is unfair on locals (fyi could be of any race) it is unfair on migrants to uproot their lives on a lie that there is good work here when for many there is not
International Students – improve language standards, improve the experience of locals (fyi of all races, locals can be more than white) who have to study alongside them, fix the scam of show money and more.
Refugees – we must take our fair share and give them more support
Family reunion / ageing parents – working age only or older parents only if you 100% support them. Too many migrants seem to have the belief that they will move here as one medium tax payer and bring in the whole cast and crew to be supported by our generous system. Where is the benefit to us if 1 taxpayer = 5 state dependents.
It’s a mixed bag. I’m not completely against migration. I just want the right mix of people who contribute, people who don’t have incompatible values and a case to be made for why we chose that person. You don’t have to say yes to all migration lest you be accused of being racist. I say yes to the right migration. Right not being about race or religion but about contribution, compatibility and their happiness as much as ours. I know way too many unhappy migrants who didn’t get what they thought they were getting.
Compatible doesn’t have to mean white or Christian. Just not fundie. There are plenty of fundie countries and communities around the world that suit these people better. We have enough home grown fundies without bringing in more. In my experience they just end up unhappy here anyway so we’d be doing them a favour to say no.
Oh dear! Down votes. Did I offend some racist WASP’s?
I actually think these articles are trolling, not including Crikey.
The media with a straight face reports the demands of temporary migrants and then sits back to enjoy the outrage at entitlement.
Que? She is not a citizen, second class or otherwise.
During the pandemic there has been an intriguing push for temporary migrants to be treated like citizens. And before anyone cries racist, many of these people like Faye are white.
I’ve read article after article from temp migrants complaining that they don’t have equal rights to citizens. One article on international students said even after the pandemic they should be able to work full time in any job and have access to Youth Allowance. Say what?
It’s really weird. Why would you just automatically be given the rights of a citizen? In a country that has huge benefits for citizens we can’t just give it away on day one.
Temp migrants are meant to be an exchange where we gain and they gain, many recent articles it seems very ‘give me’
One has issues with ABS and the lifting of data from their website when it is neither explained nor understood:
‘509,600 overseas migrant arrivals‘.
Using the expression ‘migrant’ suggests permanent migration, definitely not, simply temporary churn over of all border movements (inc. citizens); has nothing to do with formal migration (nor visa status) which comes under an annual cap 150-200+ but many are onshore already (as opposed to those ‘experts’ claiming it’s ‘infinite exponential population growth’)
Secondly this actually refers to the ‘nebulous’ (UNPD defined) NOM net overseas migration which was expanded in 2006 (not a whisper in media?) to sweep up more temporary churn over of those resident e.g. students for 12/16+ months, but ‘migration’ is simply a linguistic coincidence then used unhelpfully in media by e.g. ‘Australia’s best demographer’.
Then our ‘estimated total population’ is derived also from the NOM (+ difference births/deaths) the latter NOM can be seen as ‘froth on top’; significantly larger than our citizen and/or PR population (which is how most other nations count, without a NOM, hence cannot compare according to stats 101).
Worse, the same inflated population is used to both generate ‘torrid and emotional debates’ and misrepresent our population pyramid forecasts of demographic structure to e.g. play down or avoid super contribution increases, avoid wage rises etc.; ‘libertarian trap’.
Yet our permanent population is ageing and flatlining…..
Our permanent population is ageing yes. And thank god we’re saved by hundreds of thousands of temp and perm migrants who work in low paying unskilled low tax jobs.
The idea that migrants will save us is hilarious when studies show huge numbers of migrants are working for minimum wage or barely above. The ones who qualify for some form of services like education for their children would actually cost us money, not put money in.
These people exist as cheap labor and the lie is they will save our tax base. I know a tonne of uber drivers, dishwashers and part time supermarket working migrants. I doubt they’d pay more than 2k a year in tax. We’re saved!
Bollocks. So will the “Aussie” uneducated, unemployed WASP’s become Uber Drivers, Dishwashers or part time supermarket workers? A lot of these migrants are extremely well qualified in professional fields but are forced to do this work for various reasons. Many go into small business. Quite often it’s the second generation that contribute far more than our local WASP population do because of their cultural work ethic but equally first generation migrants add value to this country. Where do you think all of our Doctors, Nurses and other Professionals are coming from? Here?
I have a good friend who came to Australia 30 years ago. Qualified Electrical Engineer but had to work up from Checkout Chick. Now a Senior PM doing serious Projects. Worked hard, went back to University for her MBA, raised two great children and contributes to the community immensely. Guarantee she pays more tax than most Contributors here. This is not an uncommon story.
Every person in this country, without exception, is either an Immigrant or the descendant of an Immigrant.
Australia claims to be a multi-cultural country but quite a number of Aussie WASP’s simply don’t like that idea and use whatever excuse they can come up with to justify their racist views.
If you look at our history of migration it’s pretty mixed. While a good portion of migrants did very well there is a large portion who stayed in working class low wage jobs their whole lives. The poorest non rural parts of the country are migrant dominated.
I am not saying we don’t need dishwashers. It is true Aussies are lazy. I work a low wage and I know there’s plenty of work and dole buglers are actually just waiting for ‘good’ jobs.
I also never said we don’t have professional migrants who work as a doctors. I am pointing out how low wage heavy a lot of the mix is.
I don’t object to the govt making the case we need to fill these jobs. I heavily object to the idea they grow the tax base or will save our ageing population. Many of these migrants pay little tax and are likely to wind up on the pension themselves and needing support. Second generation poverty is common in migrant heavy areas and among certain nationalities, especially as recent migrant has focused on cultures with less in common than post war Europeans.
You can’t deny the studies. Studies show a huge % in low wage work. Doesn’t matter what their quals are I’m talking about the tax base. We are being told that these people are going to fix our tax base yet studies show they don’t pay much tax so someone is lying.
Oh and as for racist we have plenty of low wage white immigration. I work with tonnes from the UK because low wage Australia beats low wage UK. Same with Spain, Italy and a few other nations. It’s not about race, I’m just talking about the tax base.
If we truly need low wage workers, and maybe we do, then sure just make the case for it. Don’t tell me it’s about the tax base and old people when well, what tax base?
The paucity of your vocabulary, ‘heaps‘ & ‘tonnes‘ of people, fractured syntax and poor spelling suggest a monoglot of limited learning and less experience.
I may not write that well but you’re writing is shocking. Overwrought and wrangled. When I was at uni our lecturers taught us not to substitute big words just to sound fancy, you just look pretentious. Using words like ‘paucity’ is a good example of trying too hard
Plus the boomer-esquire lack of formatting and use of italics and bolds
And why do you care so much anyway? You chase me all over this forum complaining, while at the same time writing dreadfully yourself with shocking boomer formatting.
I guess you can’t argue with the points can you. Too many lies in our society that get called out by actual low wage workers who have experience in things like living in failed ghettos and dealing with mass unskilled migration. Can’t argue with it so complaining about the wording!
People like you are why low wage workers started voting LNP. Too many urban elites are snobby about things like spelling or dress or how people talk and didn’t listen to low wage workers. Now you’re paying for it.
Perfect example. Can’t argue with the points of a low wage worker so shuts it down on class issues like spelling. Then wonders why working people don’t vote for the elites anymore. Heaven forbid that working class people say stuff that makes you uncomfortable like living in neighbourhoods that produce terrorists is uncomfortable.
Elites who support this kind of migration don’t live next door to these people, then they shame working locals who complain about having to live in fundie areas. Elites support mass migration then when you point out competing against people with basement level living and work standards kind of sucks they say ‘can you say that in a fancier way using the word paucity’
Oh dear! More Down votes. Must be doing something right if I am offending some racist WASP’s! Too close to home perhaps?
It’s not about race. I work with lots of white migrants who don’t pay much tax and are going to cost in the future. Why are we being told they will prop up the tax base? With what income?
I don’t care what race people are. I do care about incompatible values. I lived in a fundie neighbourhood and mixed with fundies from a few different religions. Whether these people were white depends on how you define white, given race is a construct. Some of these people who simply be happier back in their fundie home countries. They’re just going to be miserable here and many were miserable. It is a myth everyone is happy to be here. Many are only here because home has issues.
Maybe we need low wage migration. Govt should be honest about it. And stop talking about a non existent tax base.
And you know low wage migration hurts existing communities of colour, right? Previous generations of migrants see their gains squashed.
Do you even work low wage jobs? I do. Have you ever lived in an area with a high portion of cultural fundamentalists?
And before you criticise people who want compatible migration (of any race) do go and live in a foreign culture fundamentalist neighbourhood it might change your mind. It’s not racist to say some people might be happier in a country that better fits their religious and cultural needs.
I know far more about both working class and multicultural than you I expect. I grew up in a Working Class Multicultural (before there was such a term) area. My parents cared not one jot if anyone was black, white, brindle or jersey as long as they were decent people. Worked in low wage jobs, did my time in the military, funded my own education while working (no HECS or HELP) and have my own Multicultural wife and family. Fully self funded Retiree who retired in my very early 50’s after a career at Executive/Senior Executive/CEO level and normally spend my time between China and Australia.
As a result of my background I have seen and experienced far more racism and justification for racism than you can possibly imagine (at all levels of Australian society) . Your comments, on the surface, sound plausible except for two things. Attempting to blame Immigrants for society’s failures (“And you know low wage migration hurts existing communities of colour, right?” ) and the kicker (“happier in a country that better fits their religious and cultural needs”) as justification for “Make Australia White Again”. People migrate to different countries to improve their fortunes and those of their children – period.
In other words, it IS racist to say “It’s not racist to say some people might be happier in a country that better fits their religious and cultural needs”. This is simply saying “they are different from us and should live elsewhere”. Nothing more. Cultures grow and change over time and benefit from different cultural perspectives, customs etc. Lord knows, Australia needs to improve its culture in multiple areas and move away from the Anglosphere. We only like Immigrants if they are White, rich and have the same culture as us despite claims to the contrary. Australia, in reality, is about as Multicultural as a Klan Meeting.
Direct question.
Amir has wrangled a visa and PR. As a low wage person from migrant communities I know there are ways to scam it.
Amir works as an Uber driver and pays little to no tax. He qualifies for part Jobseeker, Medicare, education for his family and more. Amir holds religious fundamentalist beliefs like the subjugation of women to men, homophobia and religious law not the law of the country he lives in.
I’m not making him up. I know people just like that.
Do you think Amir is a good asset to this country or would he be happier living in a country designed around his religious and cultural needs? And aside from religion he is costing us more than he puts in so what is the value there, do we need more Uber drivers?
We already have huge problems with the local population in terms of beliefs, employment and so on. Why would you add more of those problems?
I have no problem with migration of any race or culture that is a net contribution and has compatible values.
Amir is WHITE by the way. Many people from the ME are WHITE
And yes I am saying ‘should live somewhere else’. That’s exactly what I am saying. Having known a bunch of religious fundamentalists I do say well you know maybe you would be happier in the country designed around those beliefs?
The only reason I don’t say the white local Christian fundies shouldn’t take a hike is because there is no real country for evangelicals unless they moved to parts of the US. If fundie pentecostal country existed I would suggest they move to it.
There are countries that are explicitly designed for fundamentalist cultures. If you want to live as a fundie then maybe you would be happier there. Most fundies I knew when I lived in those areas were unhappy with Australia.
And again with the race I worked with heaps of white low migrants from UK and Europe whose contribution is questionable. It’s not all about culture and race. Even for the ones whose culture is compatible or similar there is a question what value they add when they cost more than they pay in tax.
There is a large portion of low wage European migration in this country so to make it all about race shows you are somewhat now distanced from the topic.
Your overuse of, and denigration of WASPS is perhaps a bit, umm. What’s the word when someone singles out elements of a particular racial group and ascribes those traits to every member of the group? The word escapes me for the moment.
Heaps (dare I say heaps?) of low wage non contributing migrants are white. We have a large portion from the UK and Europe because low wage here is better than some countries over there. They wouldn’t pay much in tax and once they qualify for all the benefits like Medicare and education it may be a net loss in direct tax to services. The government needs to make a case for why these low wage jobs are worth it. Maybe they are worth it, I just want to hear the case for it which they are yet to make.
And as for the cultural issues who is ‘white’ is always changing. Many people from the Middle East are white or what may be called white by some. They are as pale as any white person. And many are some form of Christian.
It’s not all about race and when I am complaining about a Brit ripping off our labor standards to be told I’m racist is weird.
Truthful is the word you are looking for. I’m a WASP myself, just not a racist one. If you look at what I have written, I refer to racist WASP’S.
How is it about race? Low wage citizens who complain about low wage low value migration come from all races, probably more POC than white really.
And people who move here to work low wage are often white. You can easily have an Asian heritage Australian complaining about all the dodgy British backpackers we suffer through in my industry.
And people who are exploited are I think (maybe?) more likely to be exploited within their own community by their own race.
I welcome all races and cultures, just not the fundie element. It’s a fair point if you’ve ever had to live with them. Any culture has plenty of people who are moderates and come here wanting a less stringent environment. Welcome! Just don’t bring the fundies. I see no point to having a bunch of low wage fundies here, which we do have in some pockets of Sydney and Melbourne. What a controversial point to say you’re anti-Taliban, what a racist.
Working class person: Hi, so there’s people in my industry working for $10 an hour cash. The weekday rate is $25, weekend even way higher. They live in bunk beds in over crowded housing and don’t eat. This concerns me.
Progressives: Immigration has no impact on wages. Immigration is good for society. We love welcoming everyone.
Working class: Right, so it seems to be a lot of people working for $10 an hour. Are you really saying it has no impact? Last time I went job hunting I couldn’t find a legitimate paying job. And all the cheap housing in my area has been converted into dorms for foreign workers.
Progressives: You’re a racist
Working class: Um, so some of these people are white and some of us are not?
Progressive: R.A.C.I.S.T
Working class: Goes to vote
Progressive after election: Hey, so why have you guys stoped supporting us? I mean, you’re racist and dumb but vote for us!
No doubt the LNP are worse for the poor but progressives are hardly winning friends with this attitude. And by the way, finally studies have started to show that unskilled foreign labour is having a negative impact on the poor. After years of us being lied to about the bleeding obvious.
https://grattan.edu.au/news/most-new-migrants-to-australia-are-low-skill-and-they-may-be-slowing-wage-growth-for-unskilled-labour/
As you claim to love studies:
“The positive finding is consistent with the landmark study led by ANU economist Robert Breunig in 2016 which found “almost no evidence that outcomes for those born in Australia have been harmed by immigration”.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/jul/15/blaming-migrants-for-australias-lower-wages-growth-is-easy-but-too-simplistic
You may also care to actually review the studies linked in the article
https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2021/05/20/1383170/billion-dollar-hit-the-barriers-skilled-migrants-face-in-finding-jobs-at-their-full-capacity-and-the-economic-cost
I am not sure why you keep proving my point? I know I don’t write well, have you missed the point?
This article proves points 1 and 2. This migrant in the story is working as a cleaner I think it was and in a cafe. How are they supporting our tax base and old people? How much tax would they even pay? What is the business case for this migrant being here? Maybe there is a case, I just want to hear it. That no one has ever made a business case for importing cleaners makes me suspicious.
Point 2 – why are the poor paying for this? This worker came here as a skilled worker but did skilled workers end up getting challenged? Nope! They pulled up the drawbridge. Skilled workers made it very clear they did not want migrants and they made sure to make up racist (I agree with you on the racism in some parts) to shut these people out. ‘Cultural fit’ ha!
So while the rich got to reject the skilled migrants the poor got lumped with it and our wages and conditions suffered. And again, people wonder why the working class are made at elites. The elites got to reject the neoliberal program to reduce wages and we didn’t. The elites are racist and refused to work with people from different cultures and they got away with that racism. When we, of all colors, complained about low wage workers these same racist elites said we were the racist ones. Ok, so we don’t you go and hire the cleaner with the PhD then? Thought so!
1. One of those studies is about high skilled migration. I am talking about low wage and unskilled
2. The ANU study says for a start ‘almost no.’ Yes, we the low wage workers are the ‘almost.’ The ‘almost’ have a bone to pick. The ANU studies simply looked at other studies and again found from those studies that ‘specific groups’ may experience ‘small’ negative outcomes. I tell you that these ‘specific groups’ have a complaint and that ‘small’ for some people say $50 a week less pay is a lot to us.
Your studies prove my exact point, so thank you. The ANU report states ‘especially those working in sectors with higher concentration of immigrant workers’ may experience displacement or negative impacts if such negative impacts were to occur, which ANU did not actually study and can’t say either way but theoretically the 2006 study they looked at said that IF people did suffer it would be…me! I work in an unskilled migrant dominated industry so yep, that’s exactly my experience and what I am complaining about.
Your studies simply prove what all the moderate studies say – that overall immigration benefits the nation but a small subset of workers do or may experience negative effects. These negative effects are balanced by the ‘greater good.’ The less moderate studies like Grattan are more explicit.
What this means is that low wage workers in migrant heavy industries are expected to suffer to make their betters richer. Which we most certainly have done in this country. And when we have pushed back in the last 5 years by voting for a bunch of dingbats like Boris and Trump people say – why?
What do you mean why? You asked the lowest paid to suck it up for the greater good of making everyone else richer! My industry wages and conditions collapsed, our union deserted us and the left forgot about us but hey we made everyone else richer so it’s fine.
I still wouldn’t vote for Brexit or Trump or LNP as I think they’d make it every worse but I can see why some working class people bought what they were selling. Not only were we the ‘almost’ and the ‘specific groups’ and the ‘small subset of people’ when we said ‘hey why do the poor have to pay for this program’ we were told we were racist, wrong and dumb. Even when the studies said exactly what we said.
You appear base your “opinion” on two things – Muslim Fundamentalism and Taxation. I have no feelings either way towards Muslims other than that I know quite a few and most are pretty decent. It also does not apply to all Migrants as not all are Muslims.
You also see taxation as the be all and end all of “contributing” which shows a lack of understanding of economics to say the least. Migrants purchase goods and services, housing, transport etc which aids our economy. You also seem to think that they will also remain in “low wage jobs” throughout their lives. My personal experience is that this is completely incorrect. Indeed, almost everyone that I went to school with dragged themselves up by their bootstraps and prospered.
You rail against “low wage non contributing migrants” with no details of what type of migrants these are or what Visas you refer to. Backpackers? They do the jobs that “Aussie’s” don’t want to do. International Students? You rail against them but have no idea of how much they spend for their education (bucket loads) and their overall contribution to our Economy through goods, services, housing, transport etc.
I recall the end of the “White Australia Policy” and the subsequent arrival of Vietnamese Refugees to our shores to much wringing of hands by the “Aussie” population and predictions of doom and gloom. Years on, they have integrated and add to society. Australia was a cultural wasteland in the 1950’s and 60’s and immigration has opened our eyes and expanded our horizons. We are in all ways, immeasurably richer.
As to me being “somewhat now distanced from the topic”, hardly. I intentionally retired to the area that I grew up in (after living for 20 years in a Sydney North Shore suburb with a significant portion of South African and Jewish immigrants BTW) . The mix of the cultures where I live has changed as the origins of migrants have changed but otherwise its still the same. I enjoy the mix of cultures.
Sadly, Australia has a significant “Bogan” population who maintain many of the old thinking from before the “White Australia Policy” ended. Just yesterday, someone in my local Stalkerbook Community Page was railing against “two black African kids and the two Aussie kids” who had done something. What does an Aussie look like? Australian is a Nationality not a race. Everyone in Australia, without exception, is either an Immigrant or the descendant of Immigrants.
Most of the “justification” that I hear from “Aussie’s” against immigration concerns me greatly as it has a striking similarity (albeit not quite so rabid or blatant) to that used by a certain European country in the 1930’s and that did not end well at all (“Our problems are caused by them”, “It’s all their fault”, “they don’t fit in”, “they would be happier living somewhere else”).
As I have stated before, Australia, in reality, is about as Multicultural as a Klan meeting. The Government is overwhelmingly run by Rich Old White Men. Our Immigration policies are Draconian, inhumane and yes, Racist. We refuse a Visa for Sri Lankan family yet we allow individuals like Eric Abetz to migrate to Australia and participate in Government! Pretty sure that most First Nations people will agree with me as well (but then again, they may agree with you – immigration didn’t work out too well for them did it?)
I don’t believe the spending power of a low wage worker equates to cancelling out medicare, housing, education for their children, welfare when out of work and an aged pension and aged care when they are old. I am a low wage worker and I know how much I can afford to spend each week. What it does do is make some people rich like landlords or educational institutes.
As for the fundies, it’s not just Islam. We also have Jewish, Christian, Sikh and Hindu fundies. Some parts of Sydney and Melbourne are unpleasant, crime ridden and poor because of these cultural attitudes. The moderates from these groups are fine.
You are obsessed with racism. Many people of all colours do not want to import more cleaners who drag down wages. Your studies and most studies prove a ‘small’ and ‘specific’ group of people pay the price for this. Why should the poorest have to pay to make landlords rich to have another person to rent a house to.
Anyone in certain industries knows that conditions and wages have fallen in proportion to the migrant take overs of the industries. All while skilled workers resist. You have to wonder why skilled workers resist hiring foreign skilled migrants, maybe because they know too that it’s a wage and condition con.
I do not care what culture or race people are as long as they don’t actively try to undermine our hard won progress like for women, gay people and freedom. We already have locals trying to do that! It’s not unreasonable to not be in favour of those whose version of their culture is highly misogynistic. We have lots of local types who hate women lets not make it worse.
No doubt there are racist in this country, but that’s the elites. It’s certainly not the low wage workers who work alongside diverse groups of people and live next door. If you want the white bread wanting people look to the elites who manage to clear their workplaces, schools and clubs of anyone who isn’t like them. The rest of us are actually immersed in diversity, we just want our wages and no unfair competition. We’d also like it if the racist elites shouldered some of the work of handling the newcomers.
As for what types of visas or migrants – everyone! Yes, white people too you with the racism obsession. Yep, it includes whitey from Britain.
The facts are stark. A huge % of people who come to this country on any visa wind up in unskilled work. Racist elites rejected the idea of migrant, suspicious it was to lower wages and conditions. Given the power elites have they were able to pull it off. Let’s just call it ‘cultural fit’ shall we.
Then they dumped the problem on the rest of us of a huge amount of people unable to get the jobs they want and desperate. And this actually made the elites richer anyway. And when we complained about people working for $10 an hour and living 6 to a room they told us to stop complaining.
How about they stop complaining and start hiring people and then lets see who likes competition hey
And finally I am not saying no migration or no people from other cultures. Just less! In 2019 1.9 million people were temporary migrants or recent migrants. That’s massive!
Of course this is a racist country. Of course we need to diversify (within reason, no fundies). But it is not unreasonable to say heck do we need 1.9 million new people who often end up in unskilled jobs?
It is not controversial or racist to say gee if so many of those people are not getting what they came for and we can’t offer them what we promise maybe we can’t actually fit in as many as we think we can.
I am in favour of immigration, just a smaller amount. We have one of the largest programs in the world it is not extreme to say – that’s a lot!
You’re making a great contribution to the debate we need to have, Camille.I especially appreciate the way you’re calling out the arrogant elitist ex-public servants with their cushy jobs who can afford to retire early, unlike the rest of us, and then try to camouflage their former parasitic lives by criticising any trivial grammatical mistakes you might make or calling you a racist. Keep up the good work.
I don’t get out much. Didn’t know what ‘fundie’ was. Thanks. I’m an old socialist, retired for 20 years. I have time to see what’s happening. I get called ‘pinko lefty’, or worse, ‘progressive’. Ouch!.
Left Labor when it lurched to the right under Hawke, and started demolishing the unions.
You’re right about ‘racism’. It’s not helpful to call out people as racist. It stops us looking for the real motives, which are usually fear and greed. Plus we are all inclined to adopt attitudes to groups based on our experiences with individuals. I’m very wary of ‘Rebeccas’ and ‘Pauls’! It takes effort to not speak or act or think racist.
When the post-WWII immigrants were arriving, the unions were called racist, for responding just as you have. Their members were afraid the immigrants would take their jobs. They also suspected the government was attempting to reduce the power of the unions, and the pay and conditions, which was true. Back then, economics had ‘the high unemployment keeps wages low’ option, but politicians then preferred to have full employment and control inflation by other means.
The triumph of neoliberal ideology (trickle down) over traditional economics has made the rich richer, the poor poorer and reduced government services. Worse, it keeps many of us unemployed.
I’m pleased I followed this thread to discover what you were concerned about.
It’s my impression that we lose sight of the fact that we vote in politicians to make the decisions, and they do. Thus the bad stuff is the fault of the politicians. Things can’t improve until we have a better class of politician, like you or me.
Call out the politicians. It’s their choice to keep our wages low. It’s their choice to channel the benefits of immigration to the wealthy. It’s their choice to keep people on temporary visas, at the mercy of the crooks in the black economy. They are the liars that tell us ‘boat people’ are dangerous. The fundies are not coming by boat. For the most part, boat people are fleeing from fundies.
The concern about the ‘tax base’ is just another neoliberal lie. Our federal Government does not have to collect money to spend. Where did all the money that governments have had to spend around the world to fight COVID-19 come from? Governments will say, “We borrowed it.”
Our Reserve Bank is buying government bonds, with money it creates. The government then ‘borrows’ the money the Reserve Bank creates. Then the government owes our Reserve Bank. It’s in debt. Now we’ll have to raise more tax, maybe the GST, to pay it back.
Good plan, considering the Reserve Bank is the government. Raising tax to pay itself off.
So we see that we could support our ageing population without taxing anyone.
Regarding immigration, we can afford to be kind. The actual rate of population increase before COVID-19 was about 1 million every three years. About 2/3 of that was due to immigration. Of that, before boat turnbacks, boat people were about 1/10. At that rate, boat people would take 45 years to lift our population by 1 million.
Yet our Government has created Border Force and Home Affairs and spent billions of dollars to keep them out, telling us that these people are dangerous, and that we have to torture those who have already arrived. They’re are telling us that, if we don’t, millions of refugees will swamp Australia. Are you beginning to smell a rat?
Morrison and Dutton, the architects of this strategy, are now the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence.
Grattan has her moments, but she doesn’t seem to have noticed why the right supports high immigration. It’s the Governments easiest way to top up the pool of unemployed, which is the way to keep wages low.
When the pool of unemployed is greater than about 5% of the workforce, workers must compete for jobs, and therefor take whatever is offered.
Low wages and unemployment are due to our politicians’ need to keep inflation low to please their rich mates. So you are right. Migrants do keep wages low, but they are the tool the politicians use, not the cause.
As you can imagine, politicians don’t want you to know what they are doing to people. It’s one of the reasons for their ‘turn back the boats’ strategy, which paints asylum seekers as bad people. The politicians can then ‘save us’ from a small group of refugees (immigrants) while they encourage ten times as many each year.