Is immigration such a good idea?
Welcome news, says Ross Gittins: the politicians have finally broken the conspiracy of silence about immigration, exploding some of the myths about its economic benefit
Something significant has happened in this hollow, populist election campaign: the long-standing bipartisan support for strong population growth – Big Australia – has collapsed. Though both sides imagine they’re merely conning the punters, it’s hard to see how they’ll put Humpty Dumpty together again. Which will be no bad thing.
The original bipartisanship was a kind of conspiracy. The nation’s business, economic and political elite has always believed in economic growth and, with it, population growth, meaning it has always believed in high immigration.
Trouble is, stretching back to the origins of the White Australia policy, the public has had its reservations about immigration. Hence the tacit decision of the parties to pursue continuing immigration, but not debate it in front of the children. That’s why we’ve never had a formal population policy.
