Bernard Keane’s article in Crickey is right about one thing: without migration, Australia stalls. Migrants now underpin almost every critical sector of the economy – from healthcare and construction to finance, aged care and hospitality.
With unemployment already near historic lows, there is simply no domestic workforce waiting in reserve to replace them.
But where Keane’s argument stops at economic necessity, the real policy failure begins.
The issue is not whether Australia needs migrants – it plainly does. The question successive
governments have avoided is how migration is managed, who is prioritised, and whether sufficient
attention is paid to integration, values alignment and social cohesion.
Political leaders oscillate between crude scare campaigns an blind economic pragmatism. One
side inflames cultural anxieties; the other reduces migration to labour supply statistics. Neither
seriously addresses the long-term impact of importing large populations without a coherent
framework for civic integration, language acquisition, or cultural convergence.
Australians are not asking for closed borders. They are asking for a smarter system – one that balances workforce needs with community stability, that selects migrants not only for skills but for readiness to participate in Australia’s social contract, and that invests property in settlement support.
Migration must strengthen the nation – not merely plug labour gaps.
Until policymakers confront this honestly, figures like Angus Taylor will continue to stumble between economic reality and populist pressure, while public trust in the system erodes further.
Australia cannot function without migration. Entire industries depend on it, from healthcare construction to aged care, hospitality and education. With unemployment low and workforce participation at record levels, migrants fill essential gaps that cannot be met domestically.
But acknowledging this reality does not mean avoiding a difficult question:
Are we being strategic enough about who we invite, and how well newcomers are supported to integrate!
Migration policy should never be reduced to fear-based narratives about race or religion. That misses the point entirely. The real issue is whether Australia is selecting migrants in a way that strengthens social cohesion, economic productivity and shared civic values – and whether adequate systems exIst to support integration once people arrive.
A modern migration framework must consider more than skills shortages alone. It also needs to asses:
Cultural adaptability and willingness to participate in Australian civic life
- Language capability
- Understanding of democratic norms and equal rights
- Readiness to engage with local communities
- Long-term settlement outcomes, not use short-term labour demand
These are not exclusionary ideas. They are standard nation-building considerations used by many
successful immigration countries.
At present, migration is often treated as a purely economic lever – a way to plug workforce gaps
and boost GDP. But societies are not spreadsheets. Rapid population growth without proper
integration planning risks creating parallel communities, social friction and declining trust in institutions.
The debate should therefore move away from crude slogans about “open doors” or “closed borders” and a more mature national conversation.
How do we balance economic need with social stability rather than fragments, our shared civic culture?
And how do we build pathways for genuine integration instead of assuming it happens automatically!
Australia needs migration. But it also needs thoughtful migration, guided by long-term social outcomes, not short-term politics.
