Yesterday, Cory Bernardi from the Australian Conservatives released its manifesto, which correctly called for Australia’s migrant intake to be halved but stupidly called for Australia to withdraw from the United Nation’s refugee Convention:
Key Points:
- Immigration to Australia must be in our economic, social and cultural interest.
- Migrants should contribute to Australia and repay welfare through the tax system.
- We will withdraw from the UN Refugee Convention, and never resettle those who arrive here illegally.
- We will reform all classes of visas and the processes used to obtain them.
- Termination of permanent residency and changes to requirements for citizenship.
Further Information:
Australian interest
Immigration must provide a positive benefit to Australia’s economic, social and cultural interests. Current immigration levels are too high, putting pressure on services, infrastructure and family incomes. We will immediately halve our current net immigration intake which will result in our population and big cities growing at a more reasonable and manageable rate
Contribution to Australia
Migrants must be committed to making a positive contribution to Australia. Welfare payments will be limited in scope and duration to better encourage migrants to participate in our workforce, become a regular taxpayer and be self-sufficient. Those settled in Australia should contribute to our economy, not be welfare-dependent.
Refugees and illegal arrivals
We will withdraw from the UN Refugee Convention to allow Australia to determine its refugee intake free from external constraints.
Australian Conservatives support our world-leading offshore processing and illegal boat arrival turn-back policies. However, all determinations of visa applications will take place within Australia.Visa reform
All visa applications from identified high-risk countries will take place within Australia.
The family reunion stream is misused and we will legislate that family members may only be brought to Australia if those members are declared at the time of the initial visa application.
We will also critically examine the student and temporary skills shortage visas to ensure they work in our national interest and are no longer open to misuse or abuse.
Termination of residency and changes to citizenship
Permanent residents will be subject to ongoing character tests, and permanent residency will be withdrawn in the event of significant criminal conduct, either within Australia or overseas. This includes going to unsanctioned conflicts as a ‘foreign fighter’ or actively co-operating with Australia’s enemies. Foreign-born dual nationals travelling to proscribed zones like Syria without prior approval will have their Australian passports revoked. Residency withdrawal will be extended to include family members who entered Australia under the same visa application as the individual concerned.
The residency requirement to obtain Australian citizenship will be extended to ten years. Applicants must have paid income tax (net of all government welfare) for at least seven of those ten years in order for qualify.
Halving Australia’s permanent migrant intake from circa 200,000 currently to 100,000 makes excellent sense, as are better controls over ‘misused’ temporary skilled visas. Such reforms would ameliorate the chronic strain on the major cities and living standards, and ensure that immigration is more easily digested. Such a permanent intake would also match the levels that existed throughout the 1980s and 1990s before it was ramped-up unnecessarily by John Howard and successive governments:
Unfortunately, many of the Australian Conservatives’ other proposals do not make sense. In particular, the humanitarian refugee intake is a minuscule component of Australia’s permanent migrant program. If anything, it should be increased somewhat (while the other components are slashed) to meet Australia’s international obligations, social justice concerns, and in order for Australia to be a good and caring global citizen.
Sadly, like One Nation’s immigration policy, the Australian Conservatives’ misguided focus on refugees is likely to inflame the left and make them ‘dig in’ against any and all immigration cuts (however sensible) in support of ‘open borders’. It is, therefore, likely to stifle much-needed reform rather than assist it.
If the Australian Conservatives were genuinely interested in normalising immigration back to sensible and sustainable levels, then they should have argued on the numbers, economics, and living standards alone and left race and bashing refugees out, which are largely irrelevant to the debate.
