Another week, another migration policy. Except that makes it sound normal, and this nasty race to the bottom between those who purport to represent us is anything but.
In a former life, when I worked with Australia’s universities, I thought a lot about the economic and social contributions of international students.
But beyond that slightly sterile-sounding construction, it was the personal stories that stayed with me.
Just before Covid closed almost everything down, I wrote an op-ed about a young international student, Ari (not his real name), working part-time at Just Jeans to support himself. My then 12-year-old daughter and I had dashed in to beat the lockdown. Ari was endlessly patient, showing a girl ten years his junior the whole range, but most importantly encouraging her towards the jeans ‘most comfortable for study’. Ari was in his final year of a highly complex degree. He loved his part-time job, and he was excited to be close to finishing his studies. He didn’t say he was anxious about his future, but you could tell he was. A week later, Just Jeans shut its doors. Ari was exactly the kind of young would-be citizen we are lucky to have visit us and hopefully stay on.
He was one of so many (310,000 then in 2020). As the virus hit, hundreds of heartrending stories were coming out of student-support units. Young people from Nepal and Singapore and China and India and Canada – over 140 nations – were distraught with worry about their families. In many cases, they were unable to travel home for logistical or financial reasons, or for fear of not being let back in to finish their studies. Many endured the deaths of their mums and dads, in some cases whole extended families, while sitting in lockdown in Australia. So many lost family during that terrible time. These stories were our stories.
Every time we talk about cutting numbers back, about excluding partners and kids, about tightening our borders, we are sending a message. It is a nasty message that questions belonging, that makes the migrants who built this nation feel unwelcome. It also puts doubt into the minds of those thinking about Australia as a place to live and study.
None of this means we shouldn’t have a clear responsibility to make the migration system systematic and orderly, like all public policy. But every time we sink into this ‘debate’, it makes some Australians feel less welcome in the place they have chosen as their home. It makes smart young global citizens less likely to come and live and invest and create a life here, and we are the worse for it.
P&I founder John Menadue spent a significant part of his working life finally ridding us of the White Australia policy. It is shameful that echoes of that racist policy are returning.
Today three scholars from Queensland’s James Cook University tell us what the ‘debate’ means for regional Australia. In Saturday’s edition, we will hear how it is being heard by students in South Asia.
Also, make sure you don’t miss the terrific piece about football and politics, and the scandal engulfing Manchester City. P&I senior staffer Martyn Pearce takes us through the fascinating story and asks: who really owns the game?
Finally, now that our fundraising campaign is at an end, I want to send my sincere thanks to the more than 3,000 of you who donated. I was also delighted that hundreds of new donors joined us, increasing the size and strength of the P&I community.
Many responded to our call to make regular contributions, and this really matters. It gives P&I more financial certainty and ability to plan. Now it is time to get on with the job.
I will be in China next week, and will write from there.
Until next time.
Catriona Jackson is the Chief Executive and Editor of Pearls and Irritations.