Nothing shows the complete disconnect of the media-political class from the reality of everyday Australia than immigration.
The elite just love immigration. Mass immigration, especially. Like a sugar-junkie gorging on an endless river of chocolate, they can’t get enough of it. The merest suggestion that they ought to curb their habit is met with furious indignation.
Naturally, the elite greeted the news that the Chinese virus had cut immigration into Australia to a record low with a chorus of wailing and gloom. They were shocked – shocked – when ordinary Australians had the temerity to greet the news with cheers.
But that was nothing compared to their unholy outrage when one of their own dared suggest that immigration should be curbed for a while, to benefit Australians.
Labor MP Anne Aly has called for a change of language in the immigration debate as Kristina Keneally comes under criticism for using “Australians first” rhetoric when pushing for an overhaul of the migration system.
Dr Aly, a migrant from Egypt, said Senator Keneally had some “extremely valid points” in calling for a review of the migration program but conceded that the opposition home affairs spokeswoman’s argument “could have been expressed better”.
Aly (otherwise known as Azza Mahmoud Fawzi Hosseini Ali el Serougi) is, of course, the so-called “de-radicalisation” expert whose actual qualifications are in English Literature and Acting, and writing letters of support for radical Islamic preachers facing court.
“We need to have a separate discussion around population growth and a separate discussion about immigration. I don’t like the conflation of those issues.”
They’re the same issue. If it wasn’t for mass immigration, Australia’s population would remain stable or slightly decline. Instead, we’re adding the equivalent of the city of Canberra every year.
Our major cities are exploding: Melbourne and Sydney both added nearly a million people each in just a decade. The other capitals are not far behind.
There is no clear plan, no policy. Population growth is outstripping even the most optimistic projections. In 1997, Australia’s population was projected to reach 25 million by mid-21st century. We’re only two decades into the century and we’ve already left that number far behind.
It’s ordinary Australians who have to live with the results. Mass migrants don’t set up in the leafy inner-city enclaves of the elite. It’s working-class people who have to deal with spiralling house prices, hours-long commutes to work on choked freeways, weeks-long waits to see a doctor, and schools full to bursting.
That it took Kristina Keneally, of all people, to finally stump up and say what the elite have completely refused to admit, is a stunning admission of just how out-of-control the situation is.
Labor MPs were stunned by Senator Keneally’s weekend opinion piece in the Nine newspapers that called for an overhaul of immigration policies after the COVID-19 pandemic. Declaring Australian workers could be harmed or helped by migration, Senator Keneally had particular criticism for the high numbers of temporary workers. “We must make sure that Australians get a fair go and a first go at jobs,” Senator Keneally wrote. “Our post-COVID economic recovery must ensure that Australia shifts away from its increasing reliance on a cheap supply of overseas, temporary labour that undercuts wages for Australian workers.”
It’s also dismally telling that what really upsets the elites is actually suggesting that Australia should put Australians first.
[Bob] Carr, who said Sydney was “full” when he was premier in 2005, said the debate on immigration should be “kept to an argument about numbers”.
“I would drop all references to jobs for Australians first,” Mr Carr told The Australian.
The last thing the elite want to do is put Australians first.
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