Here we go again. The Turnbull Government has reignited its plan for tougher “English-language” and “values” requirements to become an Australian citizen. From The Australian:
Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge has warned Australia is veering towards a “European separatist multicultural model”, flagging a rethink of immigration settings that could include new migrants being assessed against Australian values before being granted permanent residency…
While hailing Australia’s integration model as uniquely successful in the world, it was now facing similar challenges to that of Britain, such as “ethnic segregation and liberal values being challenged”.
“Our ship is slightly veering towards a European separatist multicultural model and we want to pull it back to be firmly on the Australian integrated path,” he warned.
…“Similarly, tolerance is generally a good principle, but we should not be tolerant of FGM or child marriage or women being prohibited from learning English, studying, or even driving.”
Defending the success of Australia to date, Mr Tudge said new migrants coming to Australia achieved at “the same rate if not better than the home born”.
There is an element of truth in Tudge’s comments. The Productivity Commission’s (PC) recent Migrant Intake into Australia report noted “the fundamental importance of strong English-language skills for an immigrant’s integration and wellbeing in Australia” and explicitly recommended “significant reforms within the current system” and “‘raising the bar’ by shifting to a universal points test while tightening entry requirements relating to age, skills and English-language proficiency”.
In principle, it makes sense for prospective migrants to be required to speak and read fluent English. It is Australia’s national language and being able to understand and effectively communicate in English is central to integrating into the broader community, as well as to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship.
That said, while improving English-language proficiency is worthwhile, the Turnbull Government has refused to address the more fundamental issue of Australia’s migration level being far too high. It is this high intake that is causing widespread indigestion in the major capitals via crush-loading economic and social infrastructure (e.g. the road and public transport systems, schools and hospitals), making housing less affordable, not to mention damaging Australia’s natural environment and diluting Australia’s mineral wealth.
Sure, the Coalition has supposedly lowered Australia’s permanent migrant intake by 21,000 via “tougher vetting”:
But at the same time, it has ramped up bridging visas, where there has been a mysteriously large rise of more than 40,000 from a year ago, with bridging visas also up around 90,000 since 2014:
Hence, net overseas migration is stuck at a ridiculously high 240,000 people a year – a level where it is projected to remain for decades to come:
Moreover, Tudge’s claim that new migrants coming to Australia achieved at “the same rate if not better than the home born”, as evident by the “unemployment rate of Australian migrants being the same as the home-born” is demonstrably false.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) latest Characteristics of Recent Migrants report revealed that migrants have generally worse labour market outcomes than the Australian born population, with recent migrants and temporary residents having an unemployment rate of 7.4% versus 5.4% for the Australian born population, and lower labour force participation (69.8%) than the Australian born population (70.2%):
It is also this excessive migrant intake (both permanents and temporaries) that is contributing to the oversupply in Australia’s labour market, in turn undermining workers’ bargaining power and maintaining downward pressure on wages.
Unless the migrant intake is normalised back towards historical levels, population pressures and resentment will continue to grow within the electorate, ultimately leading to a strong voter backlash against immigration.
We don’t need another bait-and-switch policy by the Coalition. We need a substantially lower and sustainable migrant intake.
