David Farley Can’t Kick The Growth Habit
He’s done it again – promoting mass migration in an interview with the ABC.
However his comments to Insiders have been quickly refuted by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who wrote on social media a few hours after his appearance that One Nation’s policy was “to cut net overseas migration to 130,000”, and that the party’s target was “less than half Labor’s current level” of about 300,000.
ABC
David Farley let it slip during the Farrer by-election that he was pro-mass migration. Why? Cheap labor for the fields. Because Australians are too lazy to do it. So they say. During Covid, Aussies pitched in and went out to work on farms. Pretty impressive considering Aussies have naturally higher standards and expectations, being raised in a developed country.
There’s nothing wrong with seasonal workers from the Pacific Islands coming here for 6 month-stints once a year to make some money for their families back home. Without mass migration, their wages and conditions would make it worthwhile. Instead, the PALM scheme is riddled with exploitation and, therefore, absconders.
The lesson – for conservatives – of more than 20 years of mass immigration is that growth economics is not the answer. Business as usual is damaging our culture, society and environment. It’s not just too fast – it’s too much. Our beautiful little big country has a limited carrying capacity. If we’re all going to live well for forever, why bust a gut now trying to overload it?
Eco-Nationalism
Eco-Nationalists are people who love their country and its environment. It’s only natural to be conservationists for our local environment. Nationalists care about it for practical reasons, not ideological ones and we’re also practical about global issues, like climate warming. Eco-Nationalism is the theme of my debut book Australian Renaissance, which is currently in production at Clark and Mackay Books. Eco-Naionalism advocates a steady-state economy in balance with our continent’s ecology.
What Are Our Options Now?
One Nation’s website states, “Cut immigration by over 570,000 people from current Labor levels by capping visas at 130,000 per year.” CURRENT LABOR LEVELS of NOM (net overseas migration) = 310k. (Currently annual arrivals = 570K, annual departures = 260K). Capping ALL visas at 130K means a NOM of MINUS 130K. That is only a cut of 440K, not 570K.
At the News Corp Bush Summit on Thursday this week, Hanson further muddied the waters by appearing to support a net positive migration figure similar to what Farley had suggested. (SMH)
One Nation appears not to be dependable. We kind of knew that, but it was starting to look better organized, until this latest round of stuff-ups.
The Liberal Party wants to tie migration to housing construction rates and protect ‘Australian values’, not our culture. They still support multiculturalism.
People First for Net Negative Migration
Gerard Rennick’s People First Party wants to “limit immigration to 100,000 permanent visas” and restore the middle class with a raft of other policies. Rennick clarified the policy as net negative in a post on Friday.
We believe these policies will reduce immigration for four to five years before overall immigration will flatten out to no more than 100,000.
During those four to five years, given the figures mentioned by Rennick and the usual annual departure of 260,000 people, immigration should go negative because he wants to virtually eliminate 500,000 bridging visas, deport 70,000 overstayers and cap student visas holders at any one time to 300,000 (there are 709,000 currently in the country). Also, “No immigrant will get a work visa without a job offer backed by employer sponsorship. All points based visas and skills in demand lists will end. If there is no sponsoring employer, applicants are not in demand.” Visas will have expiry date and TFN attached, so the ATO can track immigrants. This should do a great deal for the integrity of the system while reducing numbers. Parent reunion visas will cost $250K. That only leaves temporary visas such as working holiday visas unaccounted for. For more information see People First Immigration Policy.
People First will soon be called Australian Peoples Party
Leave a Reply