Policies which link migration to “values” undermine a fundamental principle of Australia’s immigration system – fairness without discrimination.
Last week, as Angus Taylor announced the Coalition’s new migration plan I was reminded of a time sitting in Parliament House with Sarya, a Syrian software engineer who had just settled in Australia through a visa pilot program run by Talent Beyond Boundaries. We were watching Question Time from the public gallery, and I glanced over expecting to share a chuckle at the political theatrics playing out below. I was shocked to see her clearly moved, with tears welling in her eyes. When I quietly asked if she was okay, she whispered: “we are above them, if only we had this in Syria”.
Sarya meant it literally and figuratively. In Australia’s Parliament, the public gallery sits above the House Chamber. But more than architecture, she explained to me later that she was moved to see democracy in action, and the simple fact that leaders must answer questions and defend their positions under public scrutiny. Sarya knew from lived experience that this does not happen everywhere, and she wasn’t taking it for granted.
I have spent 20 years working with refugees and migrants settling in Australia. I now run a program with universities across the country supporting refugee students to study and build new lives here. Sarya’s reaction that day is not unusual. In my experience, the people most committed to democratic values of equality and rule of law are very often those who have lost them, or come close to losing them, and made the agonising decision to leave their home country because of it.
The central thesis of the Coalition’s newly announced immigration policy is that Australia should discriminate against migrants based on their purported values. Angus Taylor argues there are good migrants who adopt Australian values, and bad migrants who don’t – and good migrants are more likely to come from liberal democracies rather than those “ruled by fundamentalists, extremists, and dictators”. On this basis, Taylor singles out 1700 Gazans currently in Australia on visas as a “high-risk cohort”, requiring a retraumatising “reassessment”.
This is wrong. Country of origin does not predict commitment to democratic values. It is also a contradictory argument. Non-discrimination is a core Australian value. Permanent visa applicants must sign a values statement committing to the ‘fair go’, defined as embracing ‘mutual respect, tolerance, compassion for those in need and equality of opportunity for all’. Demonising and projecting nefarious intentions onto whole groups of migrants based on their country of origin is the antithesis of this.
This is not an immigration policy guided by values. It is a racial and religious profiling dressed up in the language of values.
It has been heartening to see government ministers step up to defend Australia’s migrant and refugee communities and reassert the importance of a non-discriminatory immigration program. They are right to do so.
Non-discrimination is the cornerstone of Australia’s modern immigration system. The case for it is practical, as well as moral. We need diverse international talent to fuel productivity. We need more young working-age migrants to support an ageing population. And we know what a discriminatory immigration system costs us. The White Australia Policy restricted our labour supply, isolated us from growing regional markets, and subjected migrants to humiliating tests at the border. It was a policy that hurt Australia as much as it hurt migrants.
But if government leaders are going to defend non-discrimination, they need to demonstrate the commitment in practice. Last month, the Albanese Government banned Iranian nationals holding visitor visas from travelling to Australia. Whatever the justification, a blanket restriction targeting the nationals of a single country with no individual assessment is by definition discriminatory.
In my experience, migrants and refugees often have a sharper perspective on what this country stands for than those of us born here. Australian born nationals often take it for granted. Refugees generally do not.
Volunteers in the program I run know it is a privilege to meet and learn from people from different backgrounds and welcome them to our shores. That is the Australia most of us recognise. We must all defend the non-discriminatory basis of our immigration system.
Steph Cousins
Steph Cousins is the founder and CEO of Skill Path Australia, a non-profit organisation supporting refugees to access education, vocational training, and professional licensing pathways. She previously served as Global CEO of Talent Beyond Boundaries, leading international efforts to open skilled migration pathways for displaced people. For 20 years Steph has worked in senior roles across the human rights, refugee and international development sectors, including at Amnesty International and Oxfam. She holds degrees in arts and public policy, and a Master’s in Public and International Law from the University of Melbourne. She is based in Melbourne with her family.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-cousins-27508827/