In the aftermath of Labor’s decisive election victory, there has been much commentary about how the government now has a mandate, and the moral authority, to push through generation-defining reform in areas such as taxation, housing, healthcare, energy and the environment.
Not so much has been said about the opportunities that exist in our migration and humanitarian programs.
With countries across the globe closing their borders to migrants and refugees, and the slashing - or in the case of the United States, ending - foreign aid and humanitarian funding, the humanitarian sector is facing a vacuum of leadership at the same time as it is seeing displacement crises not witnessed since the end of the Second World War.
Australia has a history of leadership in this space. On a per capita basis, we are among the most generous welcomers of refugees, and we are home to more permanent migrants than any other country.
And there is very little contention around the idea that migration has been a key factor in our prosperity.
So, there is an opportunity for Australia to step up and become an exemplar to the world in further developing sustainable and welcoming immigration programs and generous, well-resourced refugee settlement programs.
One thing the government could do, informed by the recent experiences of refugees fleeing emergency situations in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Gaza, is to create a new emergency visa class for people fleeing danger or conflict.
It could also speed up and improve the asylum vetting process and streamline family reunification arrangements.
With global displacement at record levels, increasing the numbers of refugees Australia accepts is another measure that should be considered.
In terms of migrants, Australia is one of the world’s most desirable places to live. This gives an opportunity to use migration to address the dire skills shortages we are experiencing across most of our economy.
Through carefully planned migration we can attract some of the 90,000 tradies we are told are needed to lift us out of the housing crisis.
We can attract the nurses and doctors we need to staff our hospitals as well as the aged care workers we need to look after our elderly.
Immigration is indelibly etched into Australia’s history and inextricably linked to our prosperity and growth.
A recent and seminal book by one of the world’s leading experts on migration and globalisation, Oxford University Professor Ian Golin, calls for a global ‘migration bargain’.
The book, titled ‘The Shortest History of Migration’, argues that migration is an integral part of the human condition and without it, the human species would not have survived cataclysmic events that have shaped the planet over millennia.
Professor Goldin says that for hundreds of thousands of years, the ability of Homo Sapiens to travel across vast distances and adapt to new environments has been key to our survival as a species.
But this deep migratory impulse is being thwarted like never before.
By building ever stronger walls and raising barriers to progress, governments are harming the lives of migrants and threatening the future well-being of societies.
Under Professor Goldin’s ‘migration bargain’ people’s legitimate concerns about the numbers of migrants are recognised.
He says migrants need to abide by the laws of the land they settle in, they need to pay taxes and they need to be documented. In return, they should have rights such as minimum wages, health care, education opportunities and safe passage.
“Democratic societies have the right to choose how many people are in our societies. But I think we should admit more. More skilled migrants, more students and some unskilled immigrants as well,” Professor Goldin said.
But he argues that ultimately, migration more than repays what it costs.
“And I think the bargain needs to be between all countries in the world, and particularly between countries that think they are civilised, to have a burden sharing,” he says.
As part of this bargain, we need to distinguish between economic migrants and students and refugees who are in legitimate fear of their lives.
All of humanity has a moral responsibility to not allow people to die, as happened during the Second World War and continues to happen today, because they have nowhere safe to go.
This means equitably sharing among countries the right of safe passage and asylum processes for people in danger.
Australia has led the world on policy innovation before; on voting rights for women, on universal superannuation, on Medicare and environmental policy, to name few.
Maybe we can again be an example to the world when it comes to re-imaging global migration.
- Vanda Fortunato, AMES Australia Chair