Immigration: Population Debate Fuels Tensions in Australia

Migrants have played a key role in Australia’s growing population. At the end of World War II, Australia's population was about seven million, 10% of whom were immigrants. According to the country’s census report of 2006, the population is nearly 20 million, 25% of whom are migrants.

Immigration: Political Calculations on Immigration Levels

Tony Abbott, the Opposition leader broke the unofficial bipartisan contract, on immigration levels. The agreement provided that the levels would be dictated by economic growth and labor force demand, rather than political calculations. Further, he  placed a limit of 170,000, on annual migration levels. In response to unusually high immigration levels, Abbott said that it would come down below 170, 000 in the first term of his Government.

However, after Julia Gillard became the Prime Minister, she remolded the government’s policy on population growth. Further, Gillard clarified that she will also change the immigration scenario. Following this, the Government accused the opposition of being tricky on the population issue. It alleged that the immigration level will automatically drop below the coalition’s cap of 170,000. A report by BIS Shrapnel forecasts that the immigration level will drop to 175,000 by 2011 and to 145,000 by June 2012.

Immigration: Debates over Recent Cap on Immigration Levels

The debate over immigration levels has heated up, in the backdrop of election campaigns. Some demographers have raised concerns about setting a cap on immigration levels.

The Australian National University's director of the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, Peter McDonald, said “I don't think that it is sensible to have a target, no country in the world does that.” Further, he pointed out that immigration levels have been always set according to labor market needs.

Demographer Bernard Salt said that the anxiety of Australians about infrastructure bottlenecks and the need to improve service delivery is justified. However, the issues should not be wrapped up in migration debate. He further, agreed with McDonald that setting a limit was an irrelevant step.

Further, demographers showed concerns about the affect of the cap on migrant students. They said that it would reduce the number of migrant students in Australia. Also, this would affect the Australian Universities, which rely heavily on overseas students for their budget bottom lines. Simply put, such a step would badly hit the education sector and skilled migration levels.