LOWER OUR MIGRANT INTAKE
KAZ LETS LOOSE WITH BOTH BARRELS
“POPULATE or perish” was the rallying cry following World War II, when Labor Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell sought to overcome domestic resistance to immigration.
Calwell saw immigration as the key to quickly boosting Australia’s population numbers in terms of economic and military security.
While it may have been the right decision back then, many are now asking whether the pendulum has swung too far the other way with Australia’s skyrocketing immigration intake, thanks to a Federal Government more intent on making figures look good than basing decisions on common sense.
Nor has the federal Opposition managed to raise its head from the trenches on this issue, fearful of upsetting ethnic communities, the politically correct or basically anyone who might object.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, at September 30, 2017, Australia’s estimated resident population was 24,702,900.
That included 395,600 immigrants (of which the refugee intake forms a very small part) entering this country since September 30, 2016, and 103,900 immigrants since June 30, 2017.
By 2017, Australia had become the fastest growing country in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, taking migrants at a rate of one every two minutes and 20 seconds.
With Melbourne soon expected to top Sydney in terms of population growth, no one can deny the high current rate of immigration is having a huge effect. Most new immigrants prefer to settle in the major cities.
According to entrepreneur Dick Smith, while mass immigration boosts the overall gross domestic product figure and makes politicians look as though they are doing well, the country does not have the growth per capita.
“Geelong, like our other major cities, is going to suffer in terms of jobs and infrastructure if we keep immigration levels as they are at present,” he said last year.
He also called for a more sustainable immigration model.
While Mr Smith supported refugees coming to Australia, he said the Federal Government needed to limit the overall number of people coming here, emphasising that many were from wealthy countries.
His comments however were swiftly dismissed by Corio Labor MP Richard Marles, who said Geelong was growing simply because “it’s a great place to live”. Corangamite Liberal MP Sarah Henderson was unavailable for comment.
Of course Geelong’s a great place to live, but that isn’t why people are flocking to the region.
More likely it’s the result of an ever-increasing demand for housing in Melbourne that’s due to increasing population growth, which in turn has driven up the cost of housing to a level out of reach of many.
Is it any wonder, then, that Geelong is seen by many as a more affordable option and far less congested area in which to live?
For Geelong, the flow-on effects are glaringly obvious. Vast stretches of former farmland, particularly on the Surf Coast Highway, are now packed with box housing estates as far as the eye can see.
The rapid rise in immigration also means more money being spent on infrastructure to accommodate the burgeoning population. While, on paper at least, this may look good for the Government, what happens at the end of it?
Do we keep increasing immigration just to maintain the appearance of doing OK, or do we knuckle down, adopt a bit of common sense, roll our sleeves up and get to work? I’m all for the latter. Australia has always been a nation of many cultures, each contributing in an extraordinary way to the country we know and love today.
But we also have a responsibility to look after those who are al- ready here — whether Australianborn, or those who have chosen to make this country home — and future generations as well.
It should not be about political neck-saving exercises or a weak Opposition always happy to tackle the small stuff but missing in action when it comes to the serious issues concerning everyday Australians.
While I don’t agree with everything Mr Smith has to say, I do agree with him on this.
Australia needs to seriously modify its immigration intake.
At least until we can provide full-time jobs for those already here, lower public hospital waiting lists, create shelter for our homeless and come up with a system where we don’t have to call someone in Manila to get a problem sorted with our mobile phones.
But that would require common sense. I doubt there’s much of that floating through the hallowed halls of Parliament.