Recently, the conversation about Australia’s immigration policies has changed significantly. Criticism of high immigration levels has been common on social media for a while. However, a more notable change is the rise of these critiques from within groups that have traditionally supported increased migration. This change in viewpoint raises intriguing questions about the shifting political scene in Australia.
Allsop’s research explored the history of Australia’s immigration intake and trade tariffs since the federation in 1901. His findings revealed a clear pattern: Labor governments were typically associated with lower tariffs, while Liberal governments typically managed higher immigration numbers. He also noted that individuals with “liberal views” in Australian politics often found it challenging to identify a single political party that consistently supported both increased immigration and lowered tariffs.
Interestingly, Allsop viewed high immigration as a component of “social liberalism,” possibly steering clear of the economic reasons that are frequently associated with such policies. In recent decades, Australian politicians have frequently used higher immigration rates for economic reasons, such as expanding the labor pool for employers, growing the tax base, providing cheap labor for agriculture, boosting education exports, and addressing population aging. Practical economic needs, rather than theoretical philosophical ideals, often drive these reasons.
Returning to Allsop’s main argument, he noted that the immigration record of John Howard’s Coalition government (1996-2007) fit this historical trend. He stated that the Howard government, like its Liberal predecessors, was a “high immigration government,” especially in its later years. By its final full year in 2006-07, it reached over 140,000 permanent migrants. Allsop pointed out that under Howard, the percentage of overseas-born individuals in the population exceeded 24 percent for the first time since federation, and non-European individuals made up more than 50 percent of the overseas-born population. Additionally, the Howard government progressively raised the refugee intake from 3,802 in 1999-2000 to 6,022 in 2005-06.
